Alice's Human Sacrifice
by Fantastical Chaos
Summary: What should have been a delightful adventure in Wonderland takes an unexpected turn when the unthinkable happens. Now being pursued by the Queen of Hearts, a boy and a living dead girl set out on a quest to restore what was taken from them. This may be Wonderland, but this is certainly no dream.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello, beautiful people!**

**This is actually a rewrite of a fanfic I started years ago but never finished. It was supposed to be a trilogy taking place after the events of the song, but I only ever wrote and published the first two installments. If you're an older Vocaloid fanfic reader, maybe you know which series I'm talking about. If not, please don't try to find my old account. Most of the writing there is bad. ^^;**

**Anyway, I absolutely love Alice Human Sacrifice, and this is a story I have had in my head forever. Now I'm jumping back into this world! This rewrite will retell the original first two installments. However, that doesn't mean it will be the same story all the way through. You all know I like to keep you guessing. ;)**

**Happy reading!**

**\- Fantastical**

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Vocaloid. Each character used belongs to the respective company that produced him/her; I merely borrowed them for non-profit entertainment purposes. Same with _Alice in Wonderland_, anything Wonderland related, and the song Alice Human Sacrifice. I do not own those either. However, I do claim ownership to the cover art and words below. Please enjoy.**

* * *

Rin was dead.

Her chalk white skin grew whiter by the minute. Her glass eyes stared at nothing. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, the last sound she ever made.

Rin was dead, for Len had killed her.

Len sat a mere foot away, shaking as he hugged himself into a tight ball. The tears wouldn't stop. They could never stop. This was his fault. His twin was dead – the only person in the world who mattered to him was dead, and it was all his fault.

Try as he might, Len couldn't remember anything. One minute he and Rin were walking through the forest in their quest to explore Wonderland in a futile attempt to feed their insatiable curiosity. The next minute Rin was crying and pleading with him to come back to his senses, his fingers wrapped around her slim throat. Then he woke up, Rin's dead body lying next to his. Now all he could do was cry as his very heart was ripped from his chest.

Perhaps he was heartless. Rin was his heart, and now she was gone. It was all his fault.

"I'm sorry, Rin," he said through his tears, unable to look at her. Len dug his fingers into his bare arms, fingernails piercing his skin. "I'm sorry. I promised to protect you, but I did this instead. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.'

There was no number of times Len could apologize to make this right. Rin was gone. She could never, ever forgive him for this terrible crime.

Reaching out slowly, Len feathered his fingers over Rin's face and closed her eyes.

It was long after night fell and the sun rose again that Len decided to keep moving. Where he would go, he wasn't sure. All he knew was anywhere was better than there.

Len stood to his feet, knelt by his sister's side, and scooped Rin up. They promised to always be together, and Len had no plans to break that promise. Soon enough he too would die, and their bodies would decay side-by-side.

Such was the fate of the Kagamine Twins. A stubborn older sister and a witty younger brother, straying recklessly too far into Wonderland. Cursed to forever wander, unable to wake up from this terrifying dream.

* * *

Far away from the forest was a black castle surrounded by a thick stone wall. Inside the grand building was the most beautiful woman in all of Wonderland. She was also the most feared.

As she sat on her throne, the queen reached out and stroked the crystal ball she kept on the table by her side. Taking a deep breath, she rose to her feet. She heard a rumor just now, and she needed to know if there was any truth to it.

"Mirror," she began, "show me the boy who bears my Mark."

Smoke swirled inside the glass before the image of a fourteen-year-old boy with blond hair and blue eyes appeared. In his arms was a girl who looked so much like him they could have been the same person. The boy walked on while the girl dangled lifeless.

"So the rumors are true," she mused, disappointed. "He has gone mad."

"Do you wish to unMark him, Your Highness?" asked one of her servants, a toad the size of a child dressed in a waistcoat.

The queen thought for a moment before answering, "No, not yet."

"But carrying around a dead body everywhere is something only a mad person will do."

Glaring at the servant until he uttered an apology, the queen replied, "Although that is true, it's not too late yet. I must be able to access the boy until the days have past. It would be quite the shame if _she_ came around and I missed it, wouldn't you agree?"

"An excellent point, Your Majesty." The toad servant bowed. "We shall keep you updated on the rumors."

"Make sure that you do." The woman waved a hand, and the image faded. "Leave me."

After the servant bowed out, the queen returned to her crystal. She rested her hand on the thick glass. "Such a shame so much good has to go to waste," she said. The queen then smiled at the crystal ball. "At least I have you."

* * *

As she usually did, the girl lingered wherever she thought was the best spot to people watch. Nothing caught her interest, but she was bored and desperate to pass the time. She would have done anything to read a book if it were possible.

The villagers got on with life, oblivious to her presence. They herded animals. Traded goods. Lived life. She envied them.

When she noticed travelers coming through, her ears perked. Travelers always had the best gossip. There was no way on earth she was going to miss anything interesting enough to travel from town to town.

Following at a safe distance, the girl listened as one of the men began a conversation with a baker.

After the traveler ordered a loaf, the baker asked, "What brings you here?"

"On my way to the harbor. I have a shipment that should be in sometime next week," the traveler answered.

"Any good news from the outside?"

"Same old, same old, I'm afraid. Although . . ." The traveler leaned forward, and the baker did likewise. Seeing this, the girl leaned forward as to not miss a single word.

"There are rumors from Rose Song," the traveler began. "Three days ago, two strange children went into Blood Forest."

"Strange children?"

"Yeah. I don't know how to describe it, but these kids gave the impression they weren't familiar with, well, anything."

The baker raised his brows. "Have those children been living under a rock all their lives?"

"No," the girl whispered to herself, "but they certainly fell down a rabbit hole."

Shaking his head, the traveler continued, "Beats me. All I know is when they came back out, it wasn't how they went in. Something killed the girl, and now the mad boy is wandering around aimlessly, her dead body in his arms."

Spine going rigid, the girl swallowed out of habit. This was interesting news, to say the least. She wondered if she could find this mad boy and dead girl.

"Sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me," the baker said as he set the loaf of bread in front of the traveler. "Now, that'll be three gold coins."

The girl didn't stop to ask herself if this was nonsense. Her goal was to find the boy, and find the boy she would. All she could do as she searched was hope that it wouldn't be too late.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been ten days since Rin died. Len wandered from town to town, no destination in mind. Occasionally he would rest, but he would never travel far from Rin's body for fear of scavengers picking her pockets. If he came by food, he ate. If he stopped by a river, he drank.

Len died the same day Rin did. He was merely surviving now.

News, it seemed, traveled fast. It didn't take too long for people to whisper about him whenever he entered a new town, the people speaking as if they knew something despicable about him. _Do they know I'm the one who killed my sister?_ Len asked himself every time he heard their whispers. He never stuck around to learn the answer.

As the sun began to set, Len thought it would be best to spend the night indoors for once. He always felt paranoid sleeping outside, and it had been a long time since he and Rin had a room. With that in mind, he entered an inn. He asked for a room, and the keeper, sweating where he stood, told Len he could stay anywhere he wanted for as long as he pleased. If there was a fee for the room, he didn't voice it, and Len didn't ask.

Rin in his arms, he stomped up the stairs, away from the staring people below.

* * *

The girl entered the inn just as the boy began ascending the stairs. When she saw a boy no more than fourteen with a lifeless girl who looked just like him in his arms, she knew she had found her guy. Days of following rumors were close to paying off.

Only now all she could do was hope it wasn't too late already.

Nobody paid her any mind as she entered further into the inn. The ground floor was filled with patrons eating and drinking, all silently returning to their meal after the boy left. If there was any doubt before if this was the boy, there was none now.

Running up the stairs, the girl searched frantically for the boy. "Where are you?" she muttered, eyes scanning the halls. She heard footsteps further down, and she wasted no time giving chase.

"Wait!" she called out as the boy entered the last room on the end. Either he didn't hear her or ignored her altogether, for the door slammed shut.

Although she didn't need to, the girl took a deep breath. "Okay, okay," she told herself. "I can still do this. It's just going to be a little more freaky." She bit her lip. "I really hope he isn't as mad as the rumors say. Right, because carrying around a dead body is totally not mad."

She shook her head, as if talking to herself didn't make her somewhat mad. Taking a deep breath, she marched forward. Instead of stopping in front of the door to knock, she walked right through it.

* * *

Len laid Rin on the bed. Although Rin was no longer in the position to care for comfort, he couldn't bear to leave her on the floor. He was a lot of awful things, but he wasn't that bad.

Evil enough to kill his own twin, but not so cruel as to put her body on the hardwood floor while he got the bed.

"She looks peaceful."

Len froze, heart skipping a beat. He spun around to see another girl in his room, hand placed over her heart. "What the— How did you— Get out!" Len curled his fingers into fists, cursing himself for not closing the door all the way.

The girl blinked, eyes wide. She looked odd in nothing but a white dress, feet bare. However, this was Wonderland; even if she didn't fit in with the townspeople, he was still the odd one of the two.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," she said slowly, "but I've been looking for you."

It wasn't possible for Len's muscles to tense anymore. _She knows!_ "What do you want?" he asked, blood running cold.

"I want to help," she answered, surprising him.

Len laughed without humor. "There's nothing you can do to help me."

"Don't be so sure." The girl began advancing towards Rin.

Filled with the need to protect his sister's body, Len jumped forward to keep the girl from getting closer. She didn't seem intimidated by him and kept approaching. When she was close enough, Len stepped forward to push her away. Except his hands met air, and the force he put into that push dragged him to the ground. He hit the floor with a resounding thud, and when he pushed himself up enough to turn his head around, he saw the girl looking over Rin.

"Don't touch her!" he growled, barely registering that he failed to touch the girl himself.

Instead of reaching out, the girl studied Rin. She pursed her lips. "What happened?" she asked simply, as if it wasn't Len who committed the act. Perhaps she didn't know after all.

"I did it," Len answered, pushing himself to his feet. "It's all my fault. Rin's dead, and I'm the one who killed her."

"No," the girl shook her head, "she's not dead."

"Stop lying," Len snarled. "I don't know what you are that I can't touch you, but I do know that my sister is gone. She's been ice cold and lifeless for days. What else can she be but dead?"

"Your sister is gone," the girl agreed, "but she's not dead. She's . . . well, I don't know how to describe it."

"Passed away?" Len bitterly suggested. "That's another term for dead."

The girl opened and closed her mouth a few times. She searched around as if she knew the words to say but didn't know how to stream them together. Then, "Her soul has been ripped away."

Len furrowed his brows. "Her soul has been ripped away?"

"Your hand!" the girl suddenly exclaimed. "Tell me, did you notice any strange marks on your and your sister's hands when you first came to Wonderland?"

"How do you know I'm not from Wonderland?" Len asked as he looked at his hand.

The girl ignored him. "Do you have a strange mark that wasn't there before?"

"Um, yes."

"That's how I know," the girl answered as she stepped close to Len. On the side of his left hand where his pointer finger traced to his thumb was a yellow half heart. She looked again at his sister and saw the opposite shape on her right hand. "How long have you had it?"

"Not long after getting here," Len said. "I think it was a day after we arrived that Rin noticed them. Why?"

"The queen, that's why." The girl spoke with such venom Len almost flinched.

"The queen?" he questioned, heart jumping in his chest. He decided against telling this girl that he and Rin had found an invitation to the queen and were on their way to the palace when Len snapped and killed his twin.

"It's a long story," the girl began, "but you didn't kill your sister. What was her name? Rin? You didn't kill Rin. The queen merely stole her soul, just as she stole my body, and now Rin's body is frozen until a soul is placed in it."

"You're speaking nonsense," Len said, but this was Wonderland. The country's primary language was nonsense.

"I know it sounds like nonsense," the girl admitted, "but you have to believe me."

"And why should I?"

"Because your sister _will_ die if you don't do something soon."

Len swallowed. "So you mean to tell me that Rin's not dead, but she will be?"

The girl nodded sadly. "A body can last about a week without a soul before it starts to decay. How long has Rin been like this?"

"Ten days." The words hurt coming out. Len didn't know what to think about any of this. Not anymore.

"It's a miracle her body's lasted this long." The girl looked over it again.

Even though he did not want to know the answer, Len still caught himself asking, "What are you planning?"

"If it's okay with you, I want to merge with Rin's body."

It was as if she dumped a bucket of ice cold water on Len. "What? No way! I won't let you steal Rin's body!"

"Borrow, not steal," the girl tried to calmly explain. "The queen stole my body, and I want it back." She sighed. "Nobody can see me, or hear me, or touch me, nor I them. I'm invisible to the world. For too long, I've been useless to avenge all that has been done to me and to the people I love." The girl looked at Rin's body again. "If I borrow your sister's body, I won't have to be no more than a ghost anymore. I can live, and your sister won't die. We can work together to get what we each want back. For me, my body. For you . . . Rin."

Feeling lightheaded, Len struggled to digest what the girl was suggesting. "We can save Rin?"

The girl nodded. "It's not too late to save your sister, but her body needs a soul in it soon, or there will be no place for her soul to go if you ever find it again. I understand why you might hesitate to grant me the permission to borrow her physical form, but please believe I truly am speaking for the benefit of the three of us when I say my soul and her body must merge for now."

Len tried to process everything she was saying. It was too much too soon. "You said nobody can see you or hear you, but I can see and hear you just fine. Why is that?"

"Like you," the girl explained, "I'm not from Wonderland. Now, do I have your consent to use your sister's body?"

Looking back and forth between this girl and his sister, Len weighed his options. It was too much to take in, and he still didn't know everything. Yet if what the girl said was true and Rin's body was almost out of time, then there was no asking her to explain everything then his sleeping on it while making a decision. She needed an answer, and she needed it now. For Rin's sake.

"How do I know you won't run away with Rin's body?" Len challenged. "Why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't," the girl surprised him by saying, "but you don't have many options. Look," she met Len in the eye, "I promise to not run, and I promise to protect Rin's body as if it was my own. Although I do want my own body back, so my stealing hers shouldn't be something you need to concern yourself with. The queen has what we both want, and as much as I don't want to take control of someone else's body, this is the only way we can work together to achieve our goals. We can help each other, but we have to be willing to trust each other first."

For a minute, Len grit his teeth. She was right to say he shouldn't trust her, but she was also right to say he didn't have many options either. "Fine," he reluctantly agreed. "Just . . . just please don't let any harm come to Rin's body."

The girl nodded. "Promise. I suppose we should introduce ourselves then."

"I suppose we should." Len held out his hand before remembering that the girl couldn't touch him. He dropped it as he introduced himself. "I'm Len."

"Miku," she returned. She looked at his sister. "And Rin. She's beautiful."

Unable to say anything, Len watched as Miku seemed to sit on the bed and lie down. Except when she lied down, her soul disappeared as if she entered Rin's body. Perhaps this was what souls and bodies merging looked like.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then Rin's body began to convulse.

"RIN!" Len flew to his sister's side and held her hand.

The body jerked this way and that, violently shuddering on the bed.

As suddenly as it started, the convulsing stopped.

"Miku?" Len called, accepting who was supposed to be in Rin's body now.

The eyelids fluttered. Lips pursed. A soft moan.

When her eyes flew open, it wasn't Rin's bright cerulean eyes that greeted him.

It was Miku's emerald green eyes staring at Len instead.


	3. Chapter 3

Rin – no, not Rin. Miku in Rin's body – sat up slowly and placed her forehead in her palms. She took a deep, deliberate breath.

"How do you feel?" Len asked, cautious.

Miku blinked a few times, then she stretched Rin's – _her_ – arms out before her. "I'm not sure yet," she answered. It was Rin's voice that replied, but the words belonged to Miku alone. She rotated her wrists, curled and flexed her fingers, and took another deep breath.

After spending ten days carrying Rin's lifeless body around, it was unnerving for Len to watch the body move again. Yet what really lead him down the uncanny valley was how unlike Rin the movements were. Only by knowing Rin for fourteen years could Len tell that despite this being Rin's body, it was not Rin in there. He didn't need to witness Miku take control of Rin's body to know better. He didn't even need to see her emerald eyes where Rin's were cerulean to know the difference.

Noticing how Len looked at her, Miku frowned. "Are you all right? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"I'm just trying to process this." Len leaned against the wall, pressing his weight against it.

There was nothing more for either to say. They each took a deep breath, trying their best to wrap their heads around the situation. It was Miku who spoke first.

"There's someone we need to meet," she began. "An old friend, if you will. He said to find him if I ever discovered I was Marked. Seeing how you and Rin are Marked, I doubt he would change his mind."

"Who is it?" Len carefully moved from the wall and sat at the foot of the bed. Miku sat up and pulled her legs in to give him room. If this was Rin, personal space between them would scarcely exist. Yet despite this being Rin's body, this was not Rin. Len had never felt so torn between wanting to hug his sister but wanting to keep as far away from her as possible.

"Cheshire. He lives in a forest near the pool of tears."

Len furrowed his brows. "Pool of tears?"

"According to Wonderland mythology, a young girl was so sad that she cried and cried until her tears created a lake," Miku explained. "But that's not important. We need to find Cheshire."

Moving quickly, Miku swung her legs over the bed and jumped to her feet. Before she could take even a single step forward, she fell over and hit the ground with a thud. Groaning came from the other side.

Len threw himself down on the bed and peered over the edge. He watched as Miku sat up and rubbed her nose. When she started cursing, she actually sounded a little like Rin.

"That was stupid of me," she muttered to herself. "I spent so long without a body, and this one hasn't moved in over a week. What did I expect to happen?"

"Is Rin's body hurt?" Len asked, irritated at the treatment of his sister's form.

"Other than a throbbing nose, everything is fine," Miku answered softly. She placed her palms on the floor, fingers spread wide, and cautiously pushed herself to her feet.

Intrigued, Len watched Miku adjust to Rin's body like a newborn horse learning to stand. Knees shaking, Miku took a deep breath before she lifted her hands off the floor. She wobbled, caught her balance, then kept straightening till she stood upright. Holding her arms out like an acrobat on a tightrope, Miku took a step forward. She took step after step, her outstretched arms helping her to maintain some sort of balance.

In a matter of seconds, things began to click. Whether it was Miku remembering how to walk, Rin's muscle memory in action, or a little of both, Miku was soon able to walk back and forth in the room. Arms swung by her sides instead of being held out. Although Len could tell Miku didn't fully grasp walking in Rin's body, she did well enough.

"We need to find Cheshire before it gets too dark," Miku then declared, as if now that she had walking somewhat down the rest of their journey to save Rin and retrieve her own body would be as simple as one, two, three.

"I think it might be a little late for that," Len said. "The sun was starting to set when I entered this inn, and in the time it's taken for us to meet, talk, and for you to take control of Rin's body, it should be dark by now."

"Yeah, you're right." Miku sighed and blew at her bangs in frustration. "You and I will leave first thing in the morning then."

As Miku plopped herself onto the bed, Len suggested, "Why don't I see if I can get us something to eat. Rin's body hasn't eaten in over a week. You, uh, must be hungry."

"Hmm, I suppose that's what this gnawing feeling in my core is," Miku replied, hand on her stomach.

Furrowing his brows, Len asked, "You do know what it feels like to be hungry, don't you?"

"It's been a long time," Miku answered. "Things like thirst and hunger don't exist when you're just a soul. I have had no need to drink or eat long enough for me to forget how essential they are."

"Then I'm going to get us something to both eat and drink." Len stood and eyed Miku warily. "Don't try anything."

Miku snorted. "I can just barely walk. Trust me, my running away is nothing you need to worry about. I wouldn't make it much more than three feet before I fell flat on my face again."

"Still." Len stared at her for a solid minute before he left.

When he walked downstairs, the people went silent and watched as they did before. Considering last they saw Len he was carrying his sister's supposedly dead body, he couldn't really blame them. Len asked if there was anything for dinner, and one of the servants scurried off and almost instantly returned with a bowl of soup, a loaf of bread, and a glass of water all set on a tray. As Len requested another bowl and glass, he could see in the servant's eyes just how mad he believed Len to be. Len discarded it from his mind.

Food in hand, Len made it back to his room. Miku was still there, and she stood in front of the small mirror on the wall. The tray nearly dropped from Len's hands at what he saw.

"What are you doing to Rin's hair?" Len sounded strangled as he asked the question.

"Tying it out of my way," Miku answered as she wrapped the hair on one side of her head into a ponytail matching the other side. When she finished, Rin's shoulder length blonde hair was tied in two low tails, a style that was nothing like the way Rin preferred to wear her hair.

"Rin never goes anywhere without her bow," Len muttered before he knew what he was saying.

Miku frowned at him, but her eyes looked sad. She walked to the bed, plucked up the discarded bow, and returned to the mirror. After half a minute, the white ribbon was again tied at the top of Rin's head. "What did you bring?" she then asked, clearly wanting to change the subject.

Welcoming the shift, Len answered, "Soup, bread, and water."

"Sounds good enough for me." Miku carefully took one of the bowls and put a spoonful of broth into her mouth. Her eyes widened as she beheld the taste. "Oh, I forgot how much I loved to eat!"

Curious, Len tried the soup as well. It was not even half as good as Miku made it look the way she kept smiling as she shoved spoonful after spoonful into her mouth. Perhaps not eating for a long time made any cuisine delectable.

After they had eaten, they decided to retire so that they could get an early start to their day. "With these Marks," Miku explained as she picked at her nails, a bad habit that did not belong to Rin, "the queen can see us whenever she wants. The sooner we be rid of them, the better."

"You think she's watching us now?" Len asked, slipping off his shoes.

Miku shook her head before she answered, "I doubt it. If you have been doing nothing save walk around"—Len was grateful she didn't add "with Rin's body"—"then I don't think you would be of any interest to her. Of course, when people start seeing me walking on my own, rumors of a living dead girl are going to spread like wildfire. Once the queen hears about it, she's going to want to know what that's all about."

"Great," Len muttered, as he stretched out on the floor. "Well, good night."

Brows furrowed, Miku looked back and forth between Len and the bed. "Aren't you going to sleep on the bed?"

"No, you take it." Len made a show of placing his hands behind his head. "You're a girl, both spiritually and physically. You should get the bed while I sleep on the floor."

"Okay, but at least take a pillow and a spare blanket." Without waiting for Len to retrieve the things himself, she chucked both at him. Miku wiggled into the bed, blew out the candle, and said in the darkness, "Good night, Len."

As he tried to adjust – to the dark, to being on the floor, to a girl who looked like his sister but wasn't a mere couple feet away – Len's response was more automatic that anything. "Good night, Rin."

Miku said nothing in response. He didn't correct himself when he realized his error. Swallowing his discomfort, Len tried with little success to fall asleep.

* * *

To keep rumors from circulating for as long as possible, Miku woke Len early the next day. As they snuck out of the inn, Len saw it was still pitch-black outside, as if the very moon wasn't interested in being out at this time. It was a little cold, too, and Len was tired, but he kept his complaints to himself. At least he was on a mission. For the first time since he believed Rin died, Len had a purpose in his actions.

Though keeping his comments quiet didn't last all day.

"My legs hurt, and I'm hungry," he told Miku long after the sun had rose high in the sky. They were traveling down a road surrounded by purple bushes and pink trees. Len had no idea where they were, but Miku seemed to know exactly where she was going. "Can we please take a break?"

"We'll rest plenty after we find Cheshire," she replied, looking over her shoulder at Len.

"Who put you in charge?" Len challenged. "What makes you the leader?"

"You're fourteen, and I'm sixteen," Miku replied. "That makes me older."

"How do you know I'm not older than Rin?"

This silenced Miku. Then she asked, "Who's the older twin?"

Len grumbled, knowing he set himself up for this. Begrudgingly, he answered, "Rin."

"Then that makes me double older than you," Miku replied, an extra skip in her step.

"Can we still stop long enough to get something to eat?" Len whined. "I'm really hungry, and I'm sure you are too. You just don't remember what hunger feels like."

Recalling what she said last night, Miku sighed and said, "Okay, next town we come across, we get food."

In less than an hour, they found a small town. Len noted that there wasn't much to it, but as they entered, a rock materialized in the pit of his stomach. The wooden buildings, stone walkways, rock fire pit in the middle – he had been through here. While Len was carrying Rin's body, he passed through this very town.

The people recognized Len the same time he recognized them. Yet it was Miku who had their attention.

"Len?" Miku quietly asked, acutely aware of the looks she was getting. "Why are they all staring at me like that?"

"They saw Rin and me after Rin supposedly died," he answered even quieter. "Just pretend nothing's wrong. Act like we know nothing."

Finding an open front restaurant, Len and Miku approached it. The orange-haired owner watched as the teens sat on his bar stools and looked at the menu. "I'm broke," Miku said with a frown, as if this was the worst thing she had to worry about. "Len, do you have money?"

Before Len could open his mouth to respond, the owner shouted, "Have whatever you want! It's free! Just eat and leave!"

Miku and Len exchanged looks before Miku turned back to the owner and said, "In that case, may I have the fried egg and rice?"

"That sounds good," Len said. "Make that two." After the owner rushed off the prepare the food, Len leaned close to Miku and whispered, "That was smart."

"What?" Miku pinched her brows together, then she understood. "Oh, the free food? Yeah, I was genuinely asking if you had money. I wasn't trying to get something for free, but now that we can have it, I'm going to do the right thing and accept it."

Len looked Miku up and down. She held herself differently than Rin ever did, but he couldn't put his finger on it quite yet. "You really are something," he said.

"I don't know if that's a compliment or insult," Miku replied, "but I'll take it as a compliment. Thanks!"

* * *

They had made it to the forest by sundown. Growing shadows surrounded them, and the silence was far more eerie than anything Len would have expected in the woods. Not even the leaves rustled when the wind blew.

"So," Len began, speaking for no reason other than to break the silence, "can this Cheshire really remove our Marks?"

"Not so loud!" Miku hissed, quiet but firm. "The trees might be blind, but they're not deaf."

Furrowing his brows, Len asked, "What kind of saying is that?"

"It's no saying," Miku answered. "You need to speak quietly. There's no knowing if the trees are on the queen's side and will report us if we say something of interest."

The idea struggled to register in Len. "Wait, you mean the trees can _hear_ us?"

"Yes."

Len looked at Miku from the corner of his eye before he said, "I can't tell if you're messing with me or not."

"This is Wonderland," she reminded him. "You must have yet to meet talking flowers and rabbits in waistcoats."

"I did see a giant lizard wearing a bowler hat once." Len pursed his lips. "I thought I was imagining things."

"If you think you're imagining things, you're most likely not," Miku told him. "Rule of thumb."

Len had nothing to respond to that, so the two of them continued to trek on in silence. That eerie feeling soon returned. It crawled up Len's spine, whispered in his ear, and wrapped its crooked fingers around Len's neck. If Miku also felt it, she didn't let on.

"We're here!" Miku whispered over an agonizing hour later, long after the sun had set. She began loudly calling, "Cheshire! Cheshire!"

Scanning their surroundings, Len suggested after Miku received no answer, "Do you think he still lives here? Or perhaps he's out running errands?"

With a frown, Miku replied, "I'm not sure. It's been a long time."

"You say that a lot," Len pointed out. "It's been a long time since this, or it's been a long time since that. How long is 'a long time'?"

Before Miku could reply, an unfamiliar voice said, "I think that depends. Do you want to know what feels like a long time, or do you want to know what a clock says is a long time?"

Len jumped and began looking around in search of the speaker. There was nobody else there. "Can the trees talk, too?" he asked Miku, voice trembling slightly.

"If they can, they have to been giving me the silent treatment for years," the same bodyless voice answered. It chuckled when Len flinched. "Over here." Len looked towards the direction of the voice. Nothing. "No, over here," the same voice said, behind Len now. When he turned around, there was still nobody there.

"With how charming you are, I can't blame them. And would you cut that out?" Miku called to the empty air. "Enough games. Would you please show yourself?"

"As you wish." First a puff of smoke, then a large gray tabby tomcat floating above the ground materialized out of thin air. He grinned when he saw Len jump but said nothing. Turning his attention towards Miku, he began, "Oh, I know who you are, but who are you? Don't tell me. It's on the tip of my tongue."

Len watched as the cat, who was about as big as he and Miku, circled around his companion. He had never seen a cat such as this one before. The cat's fur was a blue tinted gray, and his stripes were an electric blue, matching his eyes. Most unnerving of all, however, was the cat's smile. The cat had human lips, but he still had cat teeth. It was beyond Len how Miku could stand there while something as strange as that cat hovered so close to her.

"Ah, I remember now," the cat finally said. "It's Miku! How could I possibly forget those emerald eyes?"

"If you know it's me," Miku said, "then you can probably guess the kind of situation I'm in."

"Well," the cat flipped over as if he was lying on his back, "you most certainly didn't dye your hair blonde."

"Are you Cheshire?!" Len interrupted, impatient. "We kind of need these Marks removed."

"Cheshire is one of my names, yes," the cat began. "I also respond to 'the grinning cat,' 'the smile without a face,' and 'that damned cat.'" He vanished and reappeared beside Len. Before Len could react, Cheshire took Len's left hand in his paws and looked over the Mark. "Yep, the queen certainly has laid claim to him."

Color drained from Len's face. "What do you mean by 'laid claim'?" he questioned. "Can you undo it?"

"I can't," Cheshire replied, dropping Len's hand.

"Then why did you tell me to find you if I was ever Marked?" Miku asked, brows pinched.

"Had you did what I told you to," Cheshire answered, "I would have lead you out of Wonderland before your body was stolen. Now that you lost your body and this body has lost its soul, I'm afraid things are a little too much out of my reach."

"So we came all this way for nothing?" Len growled. "The queen can just see what we're doing at any given time and stop us?"

"I wouldn't say for nothing," Cheshire replied. "There's still hope."

"How is there hope?" Miku asked, fists pressed against her sides. "I know we need to stop the queen, but now that I know she can decide to steal our souls at any time—"

She didn't get to finish before Len started exclaiming, "Wait, the queen can steal our souls _again_?! Does that mean she can take mine? Or yours out of Rin's body?"

"Temper, temper," Cheshire purred. "I was getting to that. You see, there is one person who fell down the rabbit hole, was Marked, and was never taken by Alice."

This had Miku's eyebrows shooting up. "I didn't know about that. Who is it?"

"Jefferson," Cheshire answered. "Although folks around here know him better as the Mad Hatter."

"I heard about that guy," Miku mumbled. "That legend is decades old. He's real, and still alive?"

"Funny how the crazier they are the longer they live," Cheshire mused. "He'll outlive us all, that's for sure."

"Okay, the Mad Hatter might be able to help us," Miku muttered, and the rest was too muffled for Len to hear. Clearer, "Where can we find him?"

"The closest route is through the Boro Grove," Cheshire supplied.

"Not the Boro Grove. Isn't there another way?"

"Plenty, but through the grove is the quickest. You want to be quick, don't you? The eclipse is only ninety days away."

"Ninety days?!" Miku looked as if she was going to fall over. "Do we really have such little time?"

"Wait, an eclipse?" Len stared at Miku and began to believe he made a mistake trusting her. "What do you know that you aren't telling me?"

Cheshire didn't help by saying, "So, you didn't tell him about the eclipse? Kind of sneaky, isn't it, Miku?"

Now Len felt that he was going to be the one to fall over. "Miku, what's going to happen on the eclipse?"

Licking her lips and gulping, Miku slowly explained, "There is a price to pay for having the ability to steal bodies. For every body the queen steals, she has to sacrifice a soul to the Nightmare on the eclipse in order to keep the body. Since . . . since I escaped from her, she needs a new soul to sacrifice. The queen . . . the queen stole Rin as a replacement for me."


	4. Chapter 4

It was as if the whole world was swept from under Len's feet. He didn't know how he stayed upright, not with his knees threatening to buckle at any moment. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to figure out what to say. Then, "You mean to tell me that if we don't save Rin in ninety days, the queen is going to _sacrifice_ her because she doesn't have you?"

"I thought we had longer!" Miku pleaded, as if that would make a difference.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Len's body shook. After starting to hope he could see Rin again, it was as if he was losing her for a second time. "Miku, is it even possible to challenge the Queen of Hearts in three months' time?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" When Miku blinked, tears began to fall. She pressed the heel of her palm into her forehead and shook her head violently. "I'm so stupid! I can't believe I thought we could do this. It was easier to believe we could when we had all this time, but not ninety days. How are we supposed to come up with a plan to break into the queen's heavily guarded castle and challenge her in _ninety days_?" Miku dropped to the ground, hugged her knees, and began to cry.

"There, there." Cheshire pat Miku on the back. "No need to fret. A smart girl like you will think of something."

"If I'm so smart, I wouldn't have gotten my body stolen in the first place," Miku grumbled between sobs. She wiped her nose. "This is hopeless."

Gritting his teeth, Len spat, "It better not be hopeless! We had a deal. You borrow Rin's body, and in return we get Rin and your body back. You're borrowing Rin's body, so you better help me get what you promised." To Cheshire, "Are you sure the Mad Hatter can help us?"

"He can help you figure out what to do, yes," Cheshire said, "but it will be up to the two of you to do the actual work."

"Good enough for me." Len held his hand out towards Miku and said, "Come on. The sooner we find the Mad Hatter, the sooner we can start formulating a plan." When Miku stared at him with tear-filled eyes, he softly added, "No sense in giving up without first trying. Either we give everything or nothing at all. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the guy who said he didn't even try."

Wiping her eyes, Miku showed a small smile and took Len's hand. As he helped her to her feet, Miku replied, "You're right, Len. We have to at least try."

"That's the spirit." Cheshire floated close to Miku and patted her cheeks. "You only fail if you give up."

"Or we don't stop the queen in time for the eclipse." Miku frowned. "I can't even begin to imagine how we're going to do this."

"We'll talk to the Mad Hatter, then we'll start imagining." Len squeezed her hand then let go. "How far away is the Mad Hatter?"

"A three days' journey, but very doable. Oh, and before you go." Cheshire vanished and reappeared seconds later with a bag in his paws. Offering them to Miku, he said, "I know they're not much, but I hope they will be of some use to you during your adventure."

Miku accepted the bag. At Cheshire's prompt, she peaked inside. A grin broke out across her face. "Mushrooms! I thought these were extinct. Thank you!"

"Don't mention it." Cheshire began to evaporate, everything but his grin fading from view. His floating lips spoke one last time before they, too, vanished, "When you go through the Boro Grove, don't smell the flowers. And make sure you bring a gift for Jefferson when you visit. It's his unbirthday, after all."

When he was certain nobody else was there, Len turned to Miku and asked, "How do we reach the Boro Grove?"

Taking a deep breath, Miku slowly spun around like a ballerina in a music box. She spun three times, trying to gather her bearings, before she pointed in the direction Cheshire disappeared.

"We need to go that way," she finally answered. "If things haven't changed too much, there's a village just outside this forest. The Boro Grove is just a day's walk from there." Miku frowned as she looked from side to side. "Although I'm afraid we'll have to rest for the night."

"It's too creepy here for me to sleep," Len muttered, feeling small as the not-deaf trees stood over him.

"Then you can take the first watch." Finding a soft patch of grass, Miku said, "Wake me when the moon's in the middle of the sky. We'll switch then."

Although time was of the essence, it did little to change that Len and Miku had walked all day. They were tired, and they couldn't not rest. When Len sat, his sore legs practically thanked him. He leaned against a tree, but his eyes would not close. There was too much on his mind to sleep.

"Hey, Miku," he called, "how long have you been a ghost?"

Her snores answered him. Len blinked as he turned his head to her sleeping figure. Those were Rin's snores. Despite how Miku carried the body, it was still Rin's. If Len wanted to, he could pretend it was Rin sleeping a few feet from him and not some soul named Miku in Rin's body.

Len did not pretend. This was not Rin. This was someone wearing a body not her own. The real Rin was out there, and if he didn't save her, she would be sacrificed. So instead, Len stared at Rin's body and swore that no matter what, he would get Rin back.

* * *

Rin didn't sleep. She didn't eat. She didn't breathe.

Rin was never tired, never hungry, and never in need of oxygen.

As strange as her predicament was, it was better she no longer had need for such things. Other than sleep, Rin didn't have access to what she previously needed. Not while she was trapped inside a crystal ball.

Rin's shoulder length blonde hair, once clipped out of her eyes with barrettes, hung freely in her face. Her bow was gone. Instead of the clothes she wore when she and Len fell down the rabbit hole, she was now dressed in a simple white gown.

With nothing to do inside the crystal ball, Rin sat bored. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. Never before in her entire life had she spent so much time thinking as she tried desperately to figure out on her own what exactly was going on.

At first, nothing was wrong. Save falling down a rabbit hole into another world, that is. She and her twin brother, Len, were traveling around Wonderland as they had been since they arrived days before. They entered a forest, and somewhere along the way, Len snapped.

Never in their entire lives had Len hurt Rin. They were viciously protective of each other, and since she was his only sister, Len took it upon himself to make sure no harm of any kind ever came to Rin. That was why when he started strangling her, Rin knew something was terribly wrong.

Len wasn't himself. Rin knew that before she noticed the whites of his eyes turned black and his cerulean irises were scarlet. There was no other explanation save something possessed her brother.

As a result, Rin pleaded with Len, begging him to return to his senses. Len's fingers loosened, and she knew Len was fighting whatever it was that tried to control him. Then that same spirit targeted her.

One second Rin was pleading with Len, the next everything went black, and the next after that, she watched both her and Len's bodies fall to the ground like ragdolls. She cried out his name, but he didn't hear her. Even now, Rin didn't know if he was alive or dead.

No matter how many times she repeated the scene, Rin still didn't know what happened that day. It was all too confusing to fully understand on her own. Yet there were three things she knew for a fact.

One, she was stolen away by the same spirit who tried to possess Len.

Two, the spirit who took her was also the Queen of Hearts, the self-proclaimed Queen of Wonderland.

Three, the spirit's name was Alice.

* * *

"Len, time to wake up." Miku gently shook the boy. He grunted and rolled over. With a heavy sigh, Miku kicked him in the side.

"OW!" Clutching where Miku kicked him, Len bolted upright and glared at the girl. "What was that for?!"

"We only have eighty-nine days to save your sister," Miku said. "Let's not waste sunlight of a single day, shall we?"

Len frowned. "Okay, I see your point. I'm up."

As they walked along the way, Miku dug into her apron pocket and pulled out a handful of berries. "Want some?" she offered. "For breakfast. Probably the best we can do till we get something more filling."

"Are you trying to poison me?" Len asked, smirking. When Miku glared at him, pulled her hand away, and popped more berries into her mouth, he said, "Sorry, I guess my joke didn't come across." Miku didn't respond. "Are you annoyed with me?"

"It was a dumb joke," Miku answered, "but I'm not annoyed. Not yet, anyway." She offered some to Len again. "They're blellow berries. Perfectly safe, but super sweet. Eat too many and you'll throw up."

Len frowned. "Doesn't sound perfectly safe to me."

"Fine. They're perfectly safe in moderation. Better?"

"Yes." Len took a few and tried a single berry. As Miku said, it was sweet. It was actually sweeter than anything he had ever tasted. Not sugary sweet like brownies and cakes, but sweet like baked fruit. "Those are good."

"When I first came to Wonderland, I ate a bush worth of these," Miku said between berries. "I had to learn the hard way to not eat so much at once."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing Rin and I didn't find these before," Len said, the words slow and heavy. "Rin has the worst sweet tooth of anyone I've ever met. She would have cleaned out a whole forest and regret nothing as she spilled out her guts."

"I know," Miku replied. "Her cravings are driving me crazy. I know better than to eat all these berries but want to anyway."

"At least you have impulse control," Len said, suddenly at a loss for appetite. "Rin's always the person who when you ask why she did that stupid thing she did, her answer is usually along the lines of 'I could, so I did. What other reason do I need?'"

Miku laughed. It was a small, soft laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. "I like this Rin," she said. "I want her and I to become friends."

Somehow, the comment made both of their shoulders drop. For Len, Miku imagined he missed his sister so much deeper than he was letting her see. For Miku, she knew that no matter what, even if she and Len successfully saved Rin and each girl got her respective body back, she and Rin would never be friends. She was on a time limit. Time would be up if she succeeded, and if she failed . . . Miku didn't want to think about that.

The teens traveled in silence even after they had left the forest. Grass started to be green again, but the trees vanished from the side of the road. Miku took this as a sign that the village was coming into view. She swallowed her heart. Not once since her time as a soul did Miku visit the village; she was too afraid of what the villagers thought of her to at any point in time return to her former home.

"Hey," Len suddenly said, snapping Miku out of her thoughts. "What's that over there?"

Miku looked where Len pointed at the hill in the distance, and her heart jumped to her throat. The onlookers must have noticed Miku staring at them, for they began charging almost right away. About half a dozen men on horseback were coming for them, and Miku didn't think it was to give the teens a warm welcome.

"Do we run?" Len asked, voice tight.

_There's no way we can outrun horses,_ Miku thought just before she answered, "As fast as you can."

Spinning on their heels, she and Len bolted back towards the forest. It was a futile attempt, but it wasn't as if either was going to stand still and wait for their pursuers. Not when she didn't know if these were the kind villagers she once trusted.

The riders were on them in minutes. One cut in front of the teens, forcing Miku and Len to come to a halt. The rest circled them, surrounding Miku and Len.

"Hey, I don't know who you are or what you want," Len began in the most strangled voice she had ever heard, "but if you don't leave us alone, I'll . . . I'll do something, and it won't be pretty."

The dark-haired man in front of them raised a brow. His ice blue eyes looked over Miku and Len before he ordered his men, "Tie them up."

To Len's credit, he did do something just as he said he would. Miku, arms being tied behind her back, could only helplessly watch as Len, also receiving bound wrists, cried. Exactly like Len warned, it wasn't pretty.

* * *

_Stupid crybaby._ Len kept mentally scolding himself. After a sack was thrown over his head, he was hefted up and thrown over the back of a horse. Based on Miku's "Hey, watch it!" he could only assume the same was done to her.

Despite being the brother, Len cried more than Rin ever did. Rin may have been only seven minutes older, but she was no doubt his big sister. Where Rin was brave, determined, and aggressive, Len was cowardly, uncertain, and passive. Although Len was protective of Rin, she was the ferocious one. Rin was the one who made even the biggest bullies regret hurting Len. Meanwhile, Len was the one who cried at even the slightest insult.

So when he started crying in front of Miku and these men, he was overwhelmed with a sense of shame that made him cry even harder.

It couldn't have been much later when he, and Miku based on her shouts that the men be gentle with her, were yanked off the horses and carried someplace. They were thrown down, and Len and Miku collided heads. Then the sack was removed, and Len blinked as his eyes adjusted.

He and Miku were in the middle of a village. Townspeople gathered. The man from before stood over them.

"You know," Miku said, trying with little success to tug her hands free, "we were heading to your village anyway. Instead of the elaborate kidnapping, you could have just waited for us."

Len sniffled but made no other sound. With the way the man glared at Miku, he didn't want any of that attention on him. His tears were only just now beginning to dry, and Len was not interested in crying again.

"What kind of black magic is this?" The man kneeled down to look at Miku better but still kept a distance. "I saw you dead in that boy's arms a week ago, and now you're alive."

A woman stepped forward. Her cherry hair and fiery eyes made her look like a torch. She glared at the teens. "Resurrection magic, no doubt," she said. "Magic they should know is strictly forbidden."

"Look," Miku tried, "we didn't use any black magic."

The woman narrowed her eyes as the man asked, "Then how are you alive again, pray tell?"

"Well, uh," Miku struggled to answer, "you see . . ."

"Hey, crazy idea," Len leaned over and whispered, "can't you tell the truth?"

"Yes," the woman agreed, "the truth would be quite nice, if you don't mind."

"As if you would believe me, but here it goes." Miku took a deep breath. "The queen stole my body and this girl's soul. I'm borrowing this body until we can get my body and her soul back. No resurrection magic involved. Well, yes, some magic is involved, but not black magic."

Len looked around and wished he hadn't. Disbelief was etched all over the townspeople's faces. Perhaps the Queen of Hearts wasn't known by her subjects to steal bodies. Maybe if she was the Queen of Souls did there stand a chance of these people believing Miku's story, but Len knew he wasn't that lucky.

"It's black magic," the woman decided. "Nice story though, but why would the queen steal your body? Or another girl's soul? Too many holes, I'm afraid."

"Please, you have to believe me!" Miku exclaimed. Then, as if she was confessing to a great sin, she cried out, "It's me! Miku!"

This got the townspeople whispering amongst themselves. The red-headed woman tensed. The man laughed. "Nice try, girl," he said, "but we know Miku. Went mad, that one. Somehow ended up marrying the king and inheriting the kingdom when he died not even a week later. We know Miku, and she's not you."

"But it is me!" Miku insisted. It looked as if she might cry. "Ask me anything. Ask me something only Miku would know. Let me prove to you that I'm really Miku!"

The man laughed again, stood, and waved her away. "Listen to her madness. They're guilty of black magic. We shall burn them at the stake." His smile dropped when the woman, appearing frightened, stepped forward. "Honey?" he tried to get her attention, but the woman paid him no mind.

Neither knowing what to say or think, Len watched as the woman kneeled in front of Miku and studied the young girl. Her brows pinched, and her lips puckered ever so slightly. Then she looked into Miku's eyes, eyes that did not belong to Rin.

"If you are truly Miku," she began, "then I have a question you should be able to answer. Tell me, if you are Miku, why is a raven like a writing desk?"

Len furrowed his brows. _What kind of a question is that?_ Yet he noticed Miku's face light up. A smile grew on her face. When a laugh passed through her lips, it was a sound of relief.

"Why do you want to know?" Miku asked, her voice sounding bubbly and high.

Raising an eyebrow, the woman answered, "Maybe I just want to know. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Well, Teto," Miku said, her smile softening to what Len believed was of affection, "there are some things we're not meant to know, and we have to leave it at that."

The woman gasped and covered her mouth. "Miku," she said, the name slipping through her fingers. Lurching forward, the woman embraced Miku in a hug. "It is you," she said. "It really is you."

This woman's, Teto's, confirmation was good enough for the rest of the people. Even the man, who just a minute before was ready to burn the teens, blinked as if even he couldn't believe what just happened before him. Whispers began again anew. The townspeople grew restless. They all agreed that if Teto said this was Miku, then this really was Miku.

"Unbind her. Quick!" Teto ordered. "And her companion, too."

Len was too stunned to do anything as the rope around his wrists was untied. Miku jumped to her feet and hugged the woman, tears now falling unrestrained from her eyes. Slowly, Len stood to his feet, unable to make sense of what was happening.

When Miku broke away from Teto, Len placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, "How do you know this woman?"

"She was like my little sister," Miku answered. She must have said something she didn't intend to, because she bit her lip and looked away when Len blinked at her.

"Your little sister?" Len questioned. "Miku, how long have you been a soul?"

Before Miku could respond, Teto took Miku by the shoulders and asked, "So all this time, it wasn't you. That queen . . . that tyrant wasn't you?"

"She stole my body, Teto," Miku said slowly. "I haven't been me in a long time. I . . . I wasn't able to talk to anyone. Not until Len here." She jabbed her thumb in Len's direction. "He's like me. So is his sister. They're not from here. That's why the queen was able to take our souls from our bodies."

Lips pursed, Teto looked at Len. "You and your sister fell down a rabbit hole, didn't you?"

"Yes," Len said. "I don't recommend it."

"Rook," Teto turned to the man from before, "it looks like there's a lot more going on than we ever thought possible. Settle things here, and meet me back at the house." Teto smiled at Miku before returning her attention to the man. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

As the townspeople began to disperse, Len leaned close to Miku and said, "Last time, how long have you been a soul?"

"Why do you keep asking?" Miku looked at Teto as she chatted with others, clearly wanting an interruption. However, this time, nobody was intervening.

"You said you're sixteen," Len reminded her. "How can that fully grown woman be your little sister if you're sixteen?"

"My soul's sixteen," Miku tried. Len noticed how shallow her breaths were getting.

"Okay then, last question." Len took a deep breath. "How long has your soul been sixteen?"

Miku looked around, still desperate for someone to save her from answering. Seeing how nobody was coming to stop her, Miku sighed. Unable to look Len in the eye, Miku muttered barely loud enough for him to hear, "My soul was ripped from my body about twenty-five years ago."


	5. Chapter 5

Len sat at the table and listened as Miku told Teto everything that had happened in the past twenty-five years, the tale taking long after the sun had set and well into the night. How Miku was Marked – unlike Rin's and Len's yellow heart halves, Miku had a green club Mark on the back of her hand – and then one day had her soul ripped from her body. Whoever ripped away her soul began using Miku's body, and she made it very clear she intended to sacrifice Miku's soul on the solstice.

"So, I escaped," Miku said to finish her story, "and for twenty-five years, I have been wandering around Wonderland. Nobody could see or hear me. It was . . . it was a really lonely time. Then I heard about Len, and I knew, I _knew_ I had to find him. I needed to believe that he and Rin were like me. They were." Miku looked at Len then back at Teto. "Now we find the Mad Hatter so he can give us information to help put a stop to the queen."

Tapping her finger against the table, Teto said, "I don't believe this. I mean, I believe you, Miku, but I still can't fully understand everything. All this time, you weren't even you. I should have known when you started insisting we call you Alice. You were different, everyone could see that, but we didn't know better. I'm so sorry, Miku. Of everyone, I was the one who should have known you weren't really you anymore."

"There's nothing you could have done," Miku insisted, reaching out to take Teto's hand. "All we can do now is stop Alice before she sacrifices Rin."

"But the solstice is in eighty-nine days," Teto pointed out. "Even if you reached the Mad Hatter by tonight, that's still not enough time to stop the queen. She's the most heavily guarded soul in all of Wonderland. You would need a whole army to even attempt overthrowing her, and even then you're not guaranteed success."

"But we have to try something." Miku sighed. "Please, Teto, if there's anything you can do to help . . ."

Seeing as Miku trailed off, Len tried, "I don't know much about Wonderland, but I do know the queen isn't all-powerful. Even if we can just free Rin in time before the sacrifice, the queen won't be able to keep her body."

"We still would have to gain access to the queen though," Miku pointed out. "After the stunt I pulled, the queen is bound to have Rin near her at all times."

"Wait." Len pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Miku. "I forgot I even had this."

"What is it?" Teto leaned close to Miku and peered over her shoulder.

Miku studied the playing deck sized card. "An invitation to the queen." She frowned as she studied both sides. "Where did you find this?"

"Rin found it, actually," Len said. "We came across a tea party without any guests, let alone a host, and there it was on the middle of the table. Rin insisted we take it, but I didn't like the idea since we could have been stealing. It wasn't as if the invite had a name on it, so how would we know if it was left there for us?"

"But you took it anyway?" Teto didn't look judgmental as she asked the question. Just curious.

"Rin's stubborn, and I'm a doormat," Len explained. "See the map on the back? We were following it before Rin was taken."

"It was a trap," Miku said, slowly setting the invitation down. "Alice lead you right where she wanted you, and she took Rin."

Len suddenly felt light-headed. "If we never took the invitation . . ."

"Stop right there." Miku held up a hand. "I'm not going to let you torture yourself like that. Len, even if you and Rin ignored the invite or saw it for the trap it was, Alice would have gotten either of you one way or another.

"However," Miku picked up the card and studied it again, "this might not be so useless after all. Alice wanted you two go take this particular path. Whether or not it actually leads to the castle, it does have some meaning in all of this."

As the teens fell silent, Teto said, "You two should prepare for bed so you may leave for the Boro Grove before the sun rises tomorrow. I'll have everything ready for you by then. Fresh clothes, supplies, and the like. Also," Teto stood from the table and walked towards the stairs and shouted up them, "Ruko! Come down here!"

"Ruko?" Miku questioned. "I don't think I met her."

Teto grinned. "That's because she's my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Miku pinched her brows, but then her jaw fell as understanding came to her. "That man who called you 'honey' . . . That was Rook, wasn't it? Oh my gosh, Teto, you married Rook!"

"Oh, not so loud." Teto laughed. "Yes, Rook and I are married."

"How did that happen?" Miku giggled. "You couldn't even talk to him without tripping over your words!"

Teto pointed at her. "You know what? Shut up, Miku."

"Who is that, Mom?" a girl about seventeen asked as she descended the stairs, eyes on Miku. "Is this the living dead girl we heard so much about?"

"No. I mean, yes. Well," Teto chewed her lower lip, previous light mood gone. She briefly explained the situation to Ruko, and the girl all the while listened intently.

Len and Miku stood and took a few steps toward the mother-daughter duo. Glancing over, Len saw that Miku was studying the two, probably trying to find similarities between them. The girl had one cherry red eye that matched both her mother's, but her ice blue eye and black hair were a perfect match to the man leading the group who abducted Len and Miku earlier.

"I need you to lead them through the Boro Grove," was how Teto chose to finish her story. "Miku says she and Len need to find the Mad Hatter so they can figure out how to put an end to Queen Alice's reign. If anyone can get them through the grove, it's you."

Ruko blinked before she turned her mismatched eyes towards Miku and Len. "How does it feel to use somebody else's body?" she asked Miku.

Len felt his muscles go tense, and he noticed Miku stiffened as well. "It's like wearing a shirt that doesn't fit quite right," Miku slowly answered. "However, it's keeping the girl's body alive and giving me a way to interact with the world. Although the situation isn't ideal for either of us, it is at least beneficial."

The response seemed to satisfy Ruko, who merely nodded and expressed nothing else. _Of course,_ Len noted, _she doesn't seem to express much emotion in the first place._ Ruko was stoic, studying them not as people but as rocks she was forced to label. If she had any other thoughts about a soul using the body of a girl she never met or about Len letting this stranger use his twin's body, she didn't share them in any form.

"We'll leave first thing in the morning," Ruko then announced. "Meet me by the village entrance." Without another word, Ruko turned around and marched back upstairs. Len watched her retreating figure, unsure what to make of the girl.

"Come," Teto said as she, too, ascended the stairs. "We better start packing you three up for your journey before you retire. It's going to be a long, hard one, so I'm sure you would like to have snacks to enjoy along the way."

* * *

When Alice threw open the throne room doors and stormed into the chamber, Rin jolted out of her deep thought. She snapped her head in the direction of the older woman, watched as the queen stomped back and forth, and listened as she cursed. A servant, a frog the size of a small child dressed in a coat and tie, ran in, begging his queen to calm down.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?!" Alice picked up various objects – her hairbrush, hand mirror, paperweight – and chucked them at her servant. The poor creature tried his best to dodge each item, but he kept tripping over his feet and couldn't move out of the way in time. "You heard rumors of the living dead girl, and you decided not to tell me!"

"I'm just now hearing about this too!" the servant exclaimed. "I had nothing to keep from you!"

"Excuses, excuses. Off with his head!" After a pair of guards came and dragged away the pleading servant, Alice marched towards the crystal ball. Completely ignoring Rin, who cowered inside her glass prison, Alice pulled away a tapestry to reveal a large mirror with silver trimming.

As with before, all Alice had to say was, "Show me the one who bears my Mark," and the mirror did exactly what was demanded of it.

Alice swore, and when Rin saw what the woman was seeing, she did the same.

Len, alive, was in a room with Rin. Only that wasn't Rin. Whoever it was looked like Rin, and Rin couldn't make out what was going on.

_He knows that's not me,_ Rin realized as she watched how the two interacted. She would know her brother anywhere, and so would Len know Rin anywhere. The way he wasn't lax with this Rin lookalike was all the evidence Rin needed to confirm Len knew whoever he was with wasn't really his twin.

However, the two seemed to get along well enough. Like strangers, sure, but still well enough. _Does she know Len knows that she's not me?_ Rin narrowed her eyes as if she squinted hard enough, perhaps she would see the answers to her questions written on the glass. She saw no explanation to what she was seeing.

"So," Alice mused, "she never truly vanished after all. How . . . interesting."

Alice waved her hand, and the image disappeared. Now she directed her attention towards Rin. A wicked smile spread across her face.

"Looks like your brother isn't so mad after all," she teased, "although I have no idea what he's doing with that . . . girl, I suppose I can call her. Living dead girl, truly."

As Alice walked away, Rin tried and failed to make sense of Alice's parting words. _Living dead girl, truly._

* * *

Early that next morning, Miku and Len changed from the light brown shorts, shirts, and white aprons that Rin and Len wore when they fell down the rabbit hole. The clothes Teto gave them were dark blue trousers and long-sleeved black tops. They also changed from their brown shoes into black boots.

"I see the theme is dark," Len said as he slipped on the boots.

Tying the short blonde hair back into two tails, Miku replied, "Hey, it was nice of Teto to give us better travel clothes."

"I'm not complaining. Though something with a little color would have been nice."

"Depending where we go, certain colors will stand out too much." Miku tied the bow into her hair. "The darker our clothes, the better we'll be in most situations."

Len looked Miku up and down. "You sure know a lot about Wonderland."

"Being a ghost for over twenty years gives you plenty of time to learn a thing or two."

"So you're really . . ." Len tried to do the mental math.

"Forty-one," Miku sharply cut in. "Yes, I know. Just because I spent all this time with the heart and mind of a teenager did not stop my physical body from aging."

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to upset you." Len tied the laces. "I didn't realize your age is a sensitive subject."

"Well, it is. Please don't bring it up again."

That was the end of the discussion. Miku and Len, now dressed, descended the stairs. Teto handed them each a pack and informed them that Ruko was waiting where she said she would.

"Is Ruko really okay with being our guide?" Miku asked as she accepted the pack.

Nodding, Teto answered, "We talked it over while you two were getting ready. She's more than willing to go as far as you and Len need her."

"What about you?" Len asked. "Won't you be constantly worried about her?"

"Of course, I will be," Teto answered, "but she's old enough to make her own decisions. Nobody here likes the queen, especially since—" Teto cut herself off. "Never mind. We now know that was Alice, not you, Miku. Anyway, if there's anything Ruko can do to help put a stop to Alice, she's going to do it."

"I'm guessing there's been a revolt or two," Len said. Miku nodded.

"Three, actually," she replied. "None of them even close to successful. It's the little guys who hate the queen. Not those who are somehow benefited by her rule."

"Learn what the Mad Hatter can tell you, and we will figure the rest out from there," Teto said. "We won't hesitate to join you if we must."

"Then we better make sure we have any hope of succeeding." Miku nudged Len with her elbow. "We best get going. It's been nearly an hour, and I don't want our journey to start off with Ruko mad at us for keeping her waiting."

"One more thing." When Miku turned to Teto, the woman wrapped her arms around the body Miku borrowed. "I'm happier than you could ever know to learn that the Miku we knew for the last twenty-five years wasn't really you. It's been wonderful to see you again. Please take care, of Ruko and Len and yourself. I just got you back. Don't let me lose you again or anyone else."

Hugging Teto back, Miku promised, "I will." When they broke the hug, Miku wiped her eyes. To Len, "Let's go. The Boro Grove awaits, and from there, the Mad Hatter."


	6. Chapter 6

Ruko was at the village entrance, just where she said she would be. She nodded at Miku and Len before spinning on her heel and leading the way.

"I hope you're prepared to go through the Boro Grove," she said, words clipped. "If you aren't careful, you'll never make it out again."

"Then why are we going through it?" Len asked, extremely uncomfortable with how Ruko mentioned never coming out again as if it was merely an inconvenience.

"It will take us days to go around but only an hour to go through," Ruko answered. "Don't worry," she seemed to add for Len's benefit, "as long as you don't smell the flowers, you have nothing to worry about."

Cheshire's words echoed in Len's mind. _"When you go through the Boro Grove, don't smell the flowers."_

"That's kind of a rule of thumb in Wonderland," Miku said, trying and failing to reassure Len with a half smile. "Don't eat, drink, and smell anything you aren't familiar with."

"Shouldn't that be a rule of thumb for everything?" Len questioned.

"Yes," Miku agreed, "but it's especially true in Wonderland."

As they came closer to the grove, Len noticed all the wooden signs warning passersby of "DANGER" and to "KEEP OUT." He started to question if Ruko was right in saying they had nothing to worry about. The more signs popped up, the more Len was convinced he should be worrying.

"Here it is," Ruko said when they finally came to the entrance. Of course, there had to be one final sign that warned, "TURN BACK NOW."

"Just don't smell the flowers, and everything will be fine," Miku said, either to Len or herself. Maybe both.

"And stay close to me," Ruko added. "I've been through here many times before. As long as you're careful, there's nothing to worry about."

Steeling himself, Len followed Miku and Ruko into the grove. Once inside, however, he couldn't understand what was supposedly so dangerous about the place. It seemed to be any other forest, with a bright green moss on the bark and flowers emitting perfume from the trees. He was still careful to not touch or smell anything, but it took only a matter of seconds for his unease to melt away.

"I don't like this," Miku muttered. Perhaps without realizing it, she reached out and took Len's hand in her own.

"This place isn't so bad," Len replied, neither pulling his hand away from Miku's nor holding it himself. "This is perhaps the safest I have felt in a long time."

"Don't talk like that," Ruko warned, but Len couldn't see what her problem was. "Trust me, all it takes is wanting to stay even for a little bit. We need to get through and get out. No detours, okay?"

"Okay," Len agreed, but a pout was on his face.

For a long time, the three walked through the grove. Each was careful to not breathe in the perfume from the flowers. The journey was so uneventful that Len for the first time since coming to Wonderland felt at peace.

_Why are we in such a rush to get out of here?_ he began to wonder. _This place really isn't all that bad. I don't see why we can't stay for a little while._

Ruko continued to march forward. Miku still clung to Len's hand, her breathing shallow and uneven. Whatever they were concerned about kept them from feeling the peace merely being in the Boro Grove provided. They needed to relax. They needed to stop and smell the flowers.

"Wait," Ruko muttered as she came to a halt. She looked this way and that, frowning. "There's something wrong here."

"What do you mean?" The anxiety gave Miku's voice a weird pitch to it. "What's wrong?"

"The path . . . It's different." Ruko narrowed her eyes and scanned the area.

"Different?"

"Like the trees have moved. As if this place is suddenly becoming a maze." Ruko sucked in a sharp breath. "We need to run. _Now_."

Len didn't understand why Ruko sounded so urgent, but he didn't fight Miku as she pulled him along. Following after her, he and Miku zig zagged through the trees and over logs. The green grass and purple flowers passed in a blur, making it harder to enjoy the calming sensation the sight of them provided.

When Len realized all their running was causing him to lose that sense of peace, he tried to yank free from Miku's grasp. However, she had a tourniquet-like grip on him. Miku would not be letting go of Len that easily.

"This way!" Ruko shouted, making a sharp turn.

"How do you know where you're going?!" Miku asked, tone on the edge of panic.

"I don't!" Ruko answered. "I'm just trying to work the path I know into this ever-changing one!"

They ran on, twisting and turning along the way. Then a root came up from the ground without warning. Both Miku and Len tripped over it and fell. Miku was back on her feet and after Ruko in seconds. Len, happily realizing that Miku had let go of him, slowly pushed himself upright.

"Why are they in such a hurry to leave?" he wondered aloud. "I wouldn't mind staying here for a little while."

As he said this, a flower he didn't know was close released its perfume. Len suddenly remembered to not smell the flowers, but as he thought this, he inhaled the purple smoke. The scent was pleasant and calming. Len no longer wanted to leave. He would stay forever.


	7. Chapter 7

Running as fast as her legs would carry her, Miku bolted alongside Ruko and Len in their attempt to flee the forest. She was surprised at the strength and speed of Rin's powerful, long legs. Had not the fear of the forest filled her every breath and heartbeat, Miku would have indulged herself in the feeling of running again, of the adrenaline again, of _living_ again.

"Almost there!" Ruko shouted, her pace just a little faster than Miku's.

When the exit came into view, both girls pushed themselves just a little further until they flew out of the grove like frightened wild animals. Miku doubled over, placing her hands on her knees and breathing heavily. Ruko completely face planted to the ground. For a moment, all that could be heard was the girls trying to control their breathing.

Then Ruko asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm all right, all things considered," Miku answered. "You?"

"Fine enough."

"Len?"

No response.

Racing heart coming to a complete stop, Miku slowly straightened and looked around. Also sensing the absence, Ruko pushed herself into a sitting position. Their male companion was nowhere to be found.

Ruko swore. "He's still in there."

"Not for long." Miku began to march forward, but Ruko shouted at her to stop.

"He won't be coming out," she explained. Instead of her usual apathy, Ruko's words carried some emotion to them. It sounded like exhaustion, but Miku believed what Ruko was really feeling had more to do with sadness.

"We can't just leave him," Miku softly replied.

"Trust me, Miku, if Len was leaving the grove, he would have left by now. Once someone has decided to stay, they will stay no matter what. Even if you found Len and tried to drag him out by the ankles, he would not be going anywhere."

Swallowing, Miku stared ahead into the grove and asked, "You've seen this happen before, haven't you?"

Ruko's answer was painful to hear. "Yes. My best friend . . . Ritsu . . . he smelled the flowers. I tried everything I could think of to get him to leave, but he wouldn't listen. He even fought me when I tried to force him out. The only thing left I could think to do was go back to our village to get the adults. It took us a while to find him, and when we did . . . it was too late."

At the sound of Ruko's voice cracking during the last part, Miku turned around to see the girl crying with her head tilted towards the ground. Miku approached Ruko, knelt down, and placed a hand on her shoulder. When Ruko looked up, Miku simply said, "I'm so sorry."

"If you go after Len," Ruko replied, "you might not come back out again."

"But I have to try. I can't just leave Len. Not like this."

"Why?" Ruko narrowed her eyes at Miku, studying the living dead girl. "You don't need him to go on this quest. You have a body. You have me. You can still save his sister without him there by your side. He has nothing to offer you. There's no reason for you to risk yourself in a futile attempt to retrieve him. His sister would understand, even if it would break her heart. So . . . why?"

Exhaling slowly, Miku said, "I can't in good conscience just walk away. Sure, Len is pretty useless, but that doesn't mean his life has any lesser value than yours or mine. Even if Rin could ever forgive me for leaving him, I would never forgive myself."

Miku stood to her feet and approached the grove. Taking a deep breath, she hugged herself. Her heartrate began to skyrocket again.

"Too many innocent people were hurt or killed while I was unable to do anything about it," Miku murmured. "If I use a body that isn't mine and don't do good with it, I'm no better than Alice. Besides, Len would do the same for me." _Even if it was only to protect Rin's body._

"I can't talk you out of this, can I?" Ruko asked, her stoic expression gradually returning as she stood to her feet.

"I'm going back, and that's that," Miku answered. "Give me thirty minutes. I'll return, with or without Len. If I don't come back at all . . ." She didn't want to say that last part.

However, Ruko nodded, understanding all the same. "Good luck."

Having no response, Miku took a deep breath and walked back into the grove before she could think herself out of it. The green grass squished beneath her weight. The purple flowers continued to give off their smokey spray.

_Don't breathe it in,_ Miku reminded herself. Not just the perfume, but the atmosphere. The Boro Grove looked to be a peaceful place to stay forever. Miku knew that giving into the temptation, even merely considering it, would have her done for with or without inhaling the flowers' scent.

"Len?" she called, keeping her tone firm. "Len, where are you?"

What sounded like singing caught Miku's ear. Following the sound, she found Len sitting on his knees as he sang to himself. He was braiding garlands with the white and yellow flowers he pulled from the ground.

"Len?" Miku called, anxious.

The boy looked up at her, and the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face lit up his whole demeanor.

"Rin, there you are!" Len exclaimed. "I was wondering when you were going to join me."

Spine stiffening, Miku replied, "No, I'm not Rin."

"Sure you are." Still smiling, Len returned to making his flower crown. "I know my twin anywhere, and you're her."

"No, Len," Miku tried. "Rin was taken by the Queen of Hearts. I'm Miku, remember? I might look like Rin right now, but I'm not Rin."

Looking back at her, Len's smile faltered slightly. "This isn't a very fun game, Rin."

"No, it's not," Miku agreed, "that's why we're getting out of here."

Now Len frowned. "I'm not going."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!" Len shouted, his expression completely shifting. His brows were pinched, his nostrils flared, and his jaw clenched. The flowers in his hands were crushed under his tightening fists. "This is the happiest I have felt in a long time. I'm not leaving this place."

"But this isn't real happiness!" Miku argued. She tried to reach for Len, but he jerked back.

"What do you know about real happiness?" he spat. "Rin, you cry yourself to sleep most nights. You're constantly scared we're going to get hurt again. I know you feel that way, because I feel that way too! Why is it when I can finally relax, you want to act like it's wrong?"

Unable to fully understand what Len was saying, Miku struggled to find a response. All she could settle with was, "If you won't go willingly, then I'll drag you out."

Lurching forward, Miku grabbed Len by the wrists and tried to pull him to his feet. Len shouted out as he refused to let her move him. Back and forth Miku cried out for Len to follow her and Len shouted his refusal in turn.

"Enough!" Breaking free from Miku's grasp, Len dropped the garland and backhanded her in the face.

Stunned from the sudden violence, Miku released Len and fell to the ground. She felt blood pooling in her mouth from where she bit the inside of her cheek. Spitting out the blood and saliva, Miku snapped her head in Len's direction to see him standing over her.

"I want to be happy, Rin," he said, his anger vanishing and being replaced with something else. His lips now wobbled, and tears pooled his eyes.

"I want to be happy," he repeated. "I can be happy here. _We _can be happy here. Why can't you see that?"

Blood dripping down Miku's chin, she slowly said, "I . . . I don't know why you aren't happy, but I can see you won't be happy here either. Not truly happy. We need to leave. It's the only chance we have."

"We have at what? Being miserable again?" Len shook his head. "Leave if you want. I'm staying here."

"But Len . . ."

A blank expression on his face, Len tilted his head to the side and asked, "Who's Len?"

Miku dropped her eyes from Len's face and swallowed her scream at what she saw. Len's feet and legs were covered in bark. Ever so slowly, the bark climbed up Len's limbs.

Head snapping to and fro, Miku really looked at the other trees. Faces. They all had faces. Now she understood what Ruko meant when she said it was too late to save Ritsu. Any minute now, it would be too late to save Len.

"Look," she began, jumping to her feet, "I can't make you leave—"

"Sure right you can't," Len growled, but she ignored him.

"—but I can remind you of what you have to lose if you stay," Miku continued. "You will never see your sister again. Rin, the real Rin, will never see her brother again. Even if I left here and saved her, you two would be forever lost to each other. How can you be happy, if you lost someone you love so dearly? How can you be happy with no one else here with you to love you? Tell me, Len, is that real happiness?"

"Why can't you just stay?" Len asked, tears now falling. The bark was still climbing Len's legs far faster than Miku was comfortable with. "Rin, if you stay with me, we can be happy forever. This can be our home. Why won't you stay, Rin? Why won't you stay with me?"

Shaking her head, Miku repeated ever so softly, "I'm not Rin."

For the first time since she found him, Len seemed to recognize her. Not his sister's body. He saw the girl who wore the skin. The eyes that were all the evidence anyone needed to know that the Rin before them was not the real Rin at all. "Miku?"

Miku trembled as she stretched out her hand. "Take it," she whispered. "You don't have to be scared. We can get out of this together. I won't leave you, Len. I promise to never leave you."

Hesitant at first, Len stared at Miku's outstretched palm before he also extended his hand. As their fingers interlaced, Len blinked and took a sharp breath. Understanding finally filled his features, erasing the blissful ignorance that made up his demeanor minutes ago.

"Miku!" Len shouted, now realizing what was happening to him.

"You have to want to leave, Len," Miku told him, clutching his fingers like a lifeline. "In order to escape, you have to want to leave."

When Len spoke, he sounded desperate. "But I'm finally happy. For the first time in a long time, I'm finally happy."

"Happy enough to forget about Rin?" Miku questioned, her chest aching as she beheld the broken boy before her. "Is this happiness worth giving up on her for?"

That seemed to do it. Wincing, Len struggled to move his legs. The bark wouldn't let him go, but Len persisted. His determination echoed in his cry. Gathering the strength necessary, Len broke his legs free from their wooden prison.

Seeing the opportunity, Miku shouted, "Run!" and didn't wait for Len to respond before she began dragging him along with her. This time she did not dare let go of his hand for even a second. This time she would not leave the boy behind.

Like before, the trees altered their paths to try trapping the teens in their maze. Not as familiar with the grove as Ruko, most of Miku's twist and turns were guesswork. However, she knew to keep running in as straight a direction as possible. Sooner or later she and Len would escape. The Boro Grove tried to have Len, and she wouldn't let it. She wouldn't let it try to take her either. Miku would run for years before she ever gave the enchanted grove another chance.

When the exit finally came in sight, Miku squeezed Len's hand even tighter as she shouted, "Just a little more!"

As she crossed the line where the grove began and ended, Miku threw Len forward like a bullwhip to make sure he was out before her. He tumbled to the ground, rolling from the momentum. Exhausted, Miku collapsed beside him and began to cry.

She did it. Despite all the risks, she got Len out. Fully realizing the relief made her cry harder.

"You went back for me."

Pushing herself upright, Miku wiped her eyes and looked towards Len. He sat on his hands and knees, his own eyes teary as he beheld her. His whole frame shook.

"You didn't run away," he muttered, tears streaming down his face just as Miku was sure tears streamed down hers. "You went back for me."

Voice wobbling, all Miku said in response was, "You're worth going back for."

Len reached forward and wiped her chin. When he pulled his hand away, scarlet stained his fingers. "I can't believe I hit you. Oh, Miku, I'm so sorry!"

"You weren't yourself. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Maybe he was grateful, or maybe it was the heightened emotions, but Len threw himself towards Miku. Arms wrapped around her shoulders and face pressed into the crook of her neck, Len sobbed onto Miku. In response, Miku hugged Len back and allowed herself to cry onto him as well.

They must have cried for a solid five minutes before they calmed down enough to pull away. They took one look at the other's red, splotchy face and smiled. Then they broke out into a fit of giggles.

Somehow managing to survive what could have been a deadly situation had ways of making someone a little slap happy.

"Now that your moment seems to be done," Ruko, who Miku forgot was there, stepped forward and looked down on the two, "are we ready to go now? It's almost nightfall. I think we have kept the Mad Hatter waiting long enough."


	8. Chapter 8

"This is it?"

Len turned his attention towards Miku. Then he looked back towards the cottage. He couldn't blame Miku's disbelief, not when he felt it too.

The place Ruko had lead them to was a run-down cottage. The paint must have peeled off years ago, most of the windows were either cracked or smashed in, and the cottage was crooked as if the foundation on which it was built long before now. It looked more like a haunted house than someone's current residence.

"Have you met the Mad Hatter before?" Len asked Ruko, curious.

She answered Len with a question of her own. "How else do you think I know where he lives?"

As Ruko lead the way, Miku and Len cast each other questioning gazes before following. If Cheshire said they needed to speak with the Mad Hatter, then it was vital they do so. Besides, they couldn't back out now that Ruko had taken them this far and the trouble Miku and Len survived in the Boro Grove.

After Ruko knocked on the door, an impatient "Come in!" shouted from the other side. Not at all acting as if this was unordinary, Ruko opened the door and walked in. Len saw Miku took a deep breath before doing the same. The door was opened, but Len couldn't see inside the cottage. It appeared as if both girls entered and were instantly swallowed by the darkness. While Miku needed one breath, Len needed ten before he had steeled himself enough to enter.

Walking in, Len had only one second to see the teacup flying towards him and duck out of the way. The china hit the doorframe and shattered behind him. As he straightened, he heard someone laughing maniacally in the darkness.

"I should have warned you about that," Ruko said as way of apology. Len couldn't see either Ruko or Miku in the dark, but he felt their body warmth as he walked further inside.

"Come in, come in!" shouted that same insane voice.

Looking first to Ruko then to Miku, or at least that's what he tried to do, Len nodded to himself as the three walked deeper into the home. There were candles on the wall here and there, giving little light for their path. However, Len thought the inside of the cottage would have appeared far less disturbing had it been completely black. The shadows from the candlelight danced along to the haunting song of the creeping floorboards and moaning walls, almost as if performing some type of hellish ritual. Dust and cobwebs littered the walls and corners, and when something large darted across the hall, Len tried with little success to convince himself that it was merely a rat.

When their journey came to an end, Len and the girls were in a parlor of sorts. The light from the cracked chandelier above illuminated the puke green walls and scarlet carpet. Chairs – wooden chairs, cushioned chairs, and even plastic chairs of every size, shape, and color – created a maze of some sort as they were scattered throughout the room. In the center, seated at a table with a torn black cloth Len was sure used to be white, was a man.

The man's face was white, the circles around his eyes a deep shade of purple; he had ebony lips; his hair defied gravity as the orange, brown, and gray strands stuck out from the side of his head; and his hat was a yard high and made up of patches of various patterns and colors. He wore a sickening yellow suit that was somehow no surprise to Len cleaner than the rest of the home. Teapots and teacups filled the table. The closer Len got, the bigger the table appeared. What initially seemed to only sit a few now looked big enough to sit a few dozen.

"Ah, Ruko," the Mad Hatter greeted in a voice that was both deep and high and had a slight crazed tone as he stood, placed his hands just above Ruko's elbows, and leaned in to kiss her cheeks. Ruko surprised Len by returning the gesture as if this wasn't odd. "How's your family?"

"We are doing all right, thank you," Ruko replied. "Although, we have a situation at hand."

"That's us." Miku stepped forward. When Len remained in place, she reached out to yank him forward. Ignoring his protests, Miku added, "We're the situation."

"Oh, I can't wait to hear it!" The Mad Hatter waved his hand around the room. "Please, take a seat."

Len sat down and then jumped when the Mad Hatter yelled at him. "I said 'Take a seat'! Not 'sit down!' Don't you see how many chairs I have? Please, take one and help me clean up around here."

"We'll take one when we leave," Ruko promised. "First, how about we have a discussion over tea?"

As they all settled down, Len looked at Miku to find her as lost as he. Appreciation for Ruko was evident in her demeanor as she let the girl take charge of the situation at hand. Though when it was time to talk, Miku seemed to find comfort in again having some form of control.

Miku opened by telling the Mad Hatter a brief explanation of her coming to Wonderland, finding herself Marked, and being taken by and escaping from Alice. When she became silent, Len took it as his cue to tell his story about Rin and Len coming to Wonderland, Rin's soul being stolen, and Miku finding Len and convincing him to work with her to get what they both wanted back. To finish, Miku picked up where Len left off and informed the Mad Hatter of everything that had happened since she took control of Rin's body.

"That's why we're here," Miku said, finishing the story. "Cheshire said you can help us. Can you help us?'

The Mad Hatter, who was previously studying his broken teacup, asked. "Want some tea?"

Since such questions and interruptions happened frequently during their stories, Len wasn't too surprised this was the first thing the Mad Hatter said after being told everything they wanted to commute. He and Miku quickly made eye contact before focusing again on the man. Even as they each accepted another cup of tea, they knew they were thinking the same thing.

_Cheshire's idea or not, did we waste our time coming here?_

Miku accepted the tea poured into her cup and drank. Len, having been giving a cup with a cracked bottom at the start, watched as his tea drained out of his teacup and onto the table. Ruko seemed to be the only one not at all worried as she declined another refill.

"Alice, Alice, Alice," the Mad Hatter murmured, "what have you gotten yourself into now?"

Len was about to open his mouth when the Mad Hatter surprised everyone by telling his own story.

"I knew the first Alice. Her real name was Meiko. Skilled swordswoman. She was declared Captain of the Royal Card before she was Marked. When she started insisting everyone call her Alice was when I knew something was deathly wrong."

"You mean deathly as in a lot of death, don't you?" Miku whispered, color draining from her face.

The Mad Hatter continued on as if he didn't hear her. "Killed a lot of people. First those sentenced to death for their crimes, then those guilty of petty crimes, and finally those who were completely innocent altogether. Abandoned her post and went on a murder spree. They saw wherever she went, she left a trail of blood behind. No wonder she was captured and imprisoned as an embodiment of sin."

It wasn't until his chest brushed against the table Len realized he was leaning closer to the Mad Hatter. Len couldn't help it. These stories were too important for him to not hear.

"The second Alice was a man named Kaito," the Mad Hatter continued. "He was a talented singer. To this day, I have yet to meet someone with a voice as beautiful as his. Charitable, too. Why, he even denied being the at-the-time queen's invite to be her personal singer in favor of traveling through Wonderland, sharing his voice with the Wonderland citizens.

"When Kaito became Alice, he started using his voice for evil. I don't know how he got his hands on the forbidden songs, and I will not say what hearing those songs does to a person, but I tell you that he was too dangerous to keep alive. Fortunately for Wonderland, Alice was shot by a madman who silenced him to death."

At this, the Mad Hatter pulled his hand from out under the table and laid a small black pistol beside his teacup. Len's heart jumped in his throat. Miku looked as if she wanted to vomit. Even Ruko seemed a little surprised at the revelation.

_"__Little dream who refuses to die_

_Creates a mess in which to hide._

_Paths of blood, deadly rose,_

_A beauty none could oppose._

_Two hearts beating as one_

_Fight against what's already done._

_Fear, Key, Mirror –_

_Each one makes the path clearer._

_The purest soul and death to a friend_

_Is how this nightmare is going to end."_

For a moment, they all stared open mouth at the Mad Hatter casually pouring himself another cup of tea. After taking a long sip, he looked at the three of them and asked, "What?"

"Was that a prophecy?" Ruko asked, leaning forward. "That sounded like a prophecy."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the Mad Hatter answered. "Ruko, dear, are you sure you don't want any more tea?"

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Miku curled her fingers. Realizing what she was doing, she took her hands off the table and pressed them into her lap. "What do we do from here?"

"You will follow the path you must follow and complete the tasks you must complete." Even though he was clearly speaking to Miku, he didn't look at her. Instead he stared off into some unseen distance. "The Whispers foretold of this long before even Alice stepped foot in Wonderland."

While the girls glanced at each other, unsure what to say next, Len looked to the man and said, "I heard that Alice Marked you but was unable to take your soul because you're too mad. Is that true?"

The Mad Hatter didn't reply out loud. Instead he reached for another teapot, doing so in a way that exposed his wrist to Len. Inked in black was a silhouette of what Len assumed to be a Joker.

"We're all mad here," the hatter then said, and it sounded as if he both responded to Len and didn't. "Some are crazy mad, others are mad mad, and there are those who are mad enough to believe in the impossible."

"You can't believe in the impossible," Len argued. "It's called impossible for a reason."

"As a wise former queen once said, 'Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.' It exists in our world, but under different names." When he said "our world," Len wondered if the Mad Hatter meant the world above Wonderland.

Blinking, the Mad Hatter looked around. Whatever had possessed him to some sense evaporated. Grinning in a way that wasn't as creepy as Cheshire's grin but still sent shivers down Len's spine, the Mad Hatter said, "Oh, look at all these lovely guests! Welcome to my unbirthday party! Tell me, what gifts do you bring?"

This was the exact moment Len remembered that Cheshire had told him and Miku to not forget to bring something for the Mad Hatter.

Ruko dug in her bag. Pulling out a teapot, she set it on the table and said only, "For your collection."

Miku plucked a folded piece of paper from her pocket and set it beside the teapot. "A poem."

When the Mad Hatter looked expectantly at Len, he knew an "I forgot" would result in a teapot to the head faster than he could blink. Thinking fast, Len blurted out, "A wish!"

Len focused only on the Mad Hatter so he didn't see the girls' responses, but he knew they didn't share the same pleased demeanor the hatter wore.

"A wish? How thoughtful!" The Mad Hatter clapped his hands together. "Those are not easy to obtain. Where is it?"

"Oh, well, you see . . . ," Len fidgeted in his seat, "I don't have it yet. However, I shall give it to you before the eclipse. Until then, you may hold onto this until I pay my dues." With that said, Len took the invitation to the queen and handed it to the hatter, who plucked it out of his hands as if it were a chocolate coin.

While the Mad Hatter went on about how this was the best unbirthday gift anyone had ever given him, Len snuck a glance at Miku and Ruko to see the girls frowning at him. Ruko looked furious, but Miku looked scared. Len didn't want to know what he had just gotten the group into.

"Thank you so much for the wonderful presents!" the Mad Hatter exclaimed. "Thank you all so much for coming to my party. Now it's time to say get out. And don't forget to take a seat with you when you go!"


	9. Chapter 9

"A wish!" Ruko snarled after the three had left the Mad Hatter's cottage into the night, none of them taking a seat for the journey. "Do you have any idea what you have gotten yourself into, Kagamine? Wishes don't just fall out of the sky!"

"I'm sorry!" Len snapped, throwing his arms in the air. "I forgot to bring something, and I panicked. I don't know what you wanted me to say."

"You could have said that the poem was from the both of us," Miku suggested. Len didn't want to admit she was right. He felt foolish enough as it was already.

"Well, now you have to somehow get a wish while also figure out how in Wonderland you're going to gather an army, storm the Queen of Hearts's castle, _and_ save your sister." Ruko shook her head. "I swear, guys don't think."

"That's sexist."

"I don't care."

"Look," Miku stood between them and held out her arms so that her palms were pressing against both of her companions' chests, "arguing isn't going to get us anywhere faster. Actually, it's not going to get us anywhere at all. Right now, we need to focus on figuring out what that riddle means. Do either of you remember what the Mad Hatter said?"

"Of course, I do," Ruko replied before quoting it word for word. At Miku's and Len's surprised looks, she simply shrugged and said, "I have perfect auditory memory."

"Sounds like a bunch of nonsense," Miku muttered.

"I thought this was Wonderland," Len argued. "Isn't nonsense a big part of the Wonderland culture?"

"Yes, but even I think that makes little sense," Ruko replied. "I don't know if that was some prophecy before the Daylight Temple was destroyed or if the Mad Hatter was just making rhymes."

"So we're in no better position than when we started." Miku crumpled to the dirt and placed her head in her hands. "Len, you have any bright ideas?"

"Why are you asking him?" Ruko questioned, leading Len to shout, "Hey!"

"I suppose you would want to go back home now that you took us to see the Mad Hatter," Miku said, looking up at Ruko.

"I do," Ruko admitted, "but I don't see any reason I should leave you two to fend for yourselves. Lenny here almost got himself turned into a tree."

"Excuse me," Len said, "I'm right here."

Ignoring Len, Miku asked Ruko, "Well then, do _you_ have any bright ideas?"

"I say we go back to the village and tell Mom what Hatter told us," Ruko suggested. "If she doesn't know anything, then maybe your Cheshire can help us out. If we still don't know what to do, then I say night terror to everything and just charge the Queen of Hearts's castle with a water wand. If we're fighting a losing battle no matter what we do, might as well fight with reckless abandon."

"You're going to get someone killed that way," Len called out.

Ruko shrugged. "Don't forget that whole 'death to a friend' line. If this was a prophecy Hatter spat at us, someone is going to die."

"I don't even want to think about that." Miku hugged herself. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Okay, let's head back to the village in the morning and see what Teto thinks. We'll camp here for the night."

The three set up camp, started a small fire, and cooked some of the provisions Teto gave them for their errand. Miku looked back and forth between Ruko and Len. One glared at her knife as she sharpened the weapon's blade. The other tied a piece of rope into a series of knots to untie the knots when he ran out of room only to begin again.

"Do you have one for me, Len?" Miku asked. "I also need something to do with my hands."

"I always keep two on me," Len answered as he gave Miku an extra rope. "Rin's more fidgety than I am but never remembers to keep something on her for when she starts getting restless."

"I'm sure I would be restless even if I was in my own body," Miku said as she immediately began to tie knots as well. Seeing some of the knots Len was tying, she tried to copy them. She didn't succeed. "Would you please show me how to tie some of those knots?"

"Sure," Len replied as he moved closer to Miku. For fifteen minutes, Len walked Miku through how to tie many kinds of knots. Since Rin knew how to tie those same knots, her muscle memory soon kicked in, and Miku was able to tie the knots faster than Len.

While Ruko continued to sharpen her knives, Miku and Len held multiple contests to see who could tie certain knots the fastest, who could tie the most complex knots on their ropes, and who could run out of rope from tying it so much just to untie it before the other. It was small, but it was the most fun Miku had in the last quarter of the century. When Len started laughing, what was happening in the moment finally hit her.

"This is the first time I heard you laugh," she whispered. Len had a nice laugh, so airy and carefree. Miku wanted to hear Len's laugh again as soon as he stopped.

"It's the first time I laughed in a long time," Len replied, his smile falling.

Eyes locked onto the knots, Miku slowly began, "In the Boro Grove . . . Len, some of the things you said—"

"I don't want to talk about it," Len interrupted.

"Do you remember what you said?"

"Not everything, but I remember enough, and I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." Silence lingered between them. The happy moment was gone, and Miku missed it immediately. As important as their quest was and how much they needed to focus, it was nice to have a moment where none of it mattered. Sure, it still mattered, but it didn't press upon her every breath and heartbeat. For a little while, she was alive again. Miku was alive, and she was playing with a friend. It was a nice feeling.

"Thank you, for coming back for me," Len said suddenly, snapping Miku back to reality.

"I wasn't going to leave you," Miku replied. "I'll never leave you, not while we're on this adventure together."

Len smiled sadly. "I don't think 'adventure' is the right word choice there."

"Just trying to make light of an otherwise heavy situation."

"Anyway," Len sighed, "it means a lot to me that you didn't leave me when you had every reason to. Before today, the only person who's ever stuck to my side was Rin. She was the one person I could always count on. I haven't bothered to have that kind of faith in anyone else in a long time."

Despite the situation, despite herself, Miku laughed softly. "Faith."

Brows furrowed, Len questioned, "What?"

"You said 'faith,'" Miku explained. "Doesn't faith require believing in something impossible?"

Thinking back to their conversation with the Mad Hatter, Len could only smile as he replied, "I suppose it is."

* * *

When Len awoke the next morning, Miku lied a few feet away from him. Ruko slept on the other side of the fire. Dawn broke into the sky, lighting the night and giving color to the world.

The girls were still asleep. Knowing it was better to get the day started then to try to go back to sleep, Len arose and began packing for their trip back to the village. He set aside bread and berries for breakfast and had everything else put away by the time Miku awoke.

"You didn't have to do all of it by yourself," Miku said as she accepted the slice of bread and ate alongside Len.

"It was only a few things. I didn't mind at all," Len answered before taking a bite. "Besides, I needed a moment to myself. To think."

"Don't we all need that?" Miku stretched her legs out in front of her. "Think we should wake Ruko?"

"You can if you want, but I'm not going to. She kind of scares me."

Miku laughed a little. "Well, we can't let her sleep the day away either. She would be mad at us for not waking her, I'm sure. I say if she isn't up by the time we finish eating, I'll be the one to risk her wrath."

"Try poking her with a big stick so you can have some distance," Len suggested, earning a smile from Miku. He returned the smile. As odd as it still was to see someone who wore Rin's face but wasn't Rin, Len started to feel almost comfortable with the companionship he was forming with Miku.

When Miku's smile fell, Len knew something was wrong. He whipped his head around to see what Miku saw, and his stomach dropped. Something was flying in the distance, and the growing form indicated that whatever it was flew towards them.

Cursing, Miku jumped to her feet and ran towards Ruko. She shook the girl and shouted, "Ruko, we need to go! The queen is after us!"

Ruko was wide awake and on her feet in a second. Her mismatched eyes looked to Miku, to where Miku pointed, and back again. "Run." She didn't need to say more. Len was already on the move.

Bags thrown over their shoulders, the teens bolted out of the clearing and towards the Boro Grove. As dangerous as the grove was, it couldn't have been worse than the pterodactyl-like creature pursuing them. Len made the mistake of looking over his shoulder to see the creature gaining on them.

"We need another way out!" he shouted towards the girls. "We're never going to outrun it!"

"Too bad there's no place to hide." Ruko cursed. "We're done for."

Miku gasped and exclaimed, "I have an idea!" Without explaining, she quickly pulled a sack from her bag and dug in its contents. She pulled out three pieces of mushroom and handed one to Len and Ruko.

"I thought these were extinct!" Ruko shouted. "Will they make us grow or shrink?"

"I don't know, but it's all we have."

"But I don't like mushrooms!" Len complained.

"Then learn to like them!" Miku snapped. "Unless you want to take a ride with our new friend."

Looking behind him, Len saw that the creature was mere seconds away from swooping in and taking them away. "I guess I can give mushrooms another chance," he decided before he and the girls ate the fungus.

As he kept running, Len noticed the world growing around him. No, the world wasn't growing. He was shrinking.

He looked to his side to see the girls also growing smaller in size. By the time the winged creature swooped in to whisk one of them away, he was short enough for the creature to barely miss. They kept shrinking until they were little taller than the blades of grass.

"We need to hide!" Ruko exclaimed. "If we stay out in the open like this, we're done for."

"But where do we go?!" Len questioned. Before anything else could be said, the collar of his shirt was grabbed, and he was forced to come to a stop.

Len looked to Miku holding him back before turning to where he was going. Miku just stopped him from falling into a river. What was a shallow stream to them while normal sized was now a raging river of death.

The creature cried, forcing all three to look towards it. Heart leaping to Len's throat, he watched as the creature circled back around to try getting them again. There weren't anymore tricks they could use to evade capture, and now they were too small to race towards the safety of the Boro Grove in time.

Ruko decided for them. "We have to jump."

"And why would we do that?!" Len shouted.

"Can you swim?" Miku asked. "Can Rin swim?"

"Yes, of course," Len answered, "but I—"

"Let's go." Without waiting for another input, Ruko jumped towards the water. She disappeared with a faint splash. Len felt woozy, as if he would never see her again.

When the creature again cried out, he knew he was running out of choices.

Felling something warm wrap around his hand, Len looked down to see Miku's fingers interlacing with his. "Together," she promised.

Len nodded.

Simultaneously they took a deep breath and jumped towards the water below.


	10. Chapter 10

Rin's head jerked to the side when she heard the throne room doors flung open. Silently, Rin viewed the queen at the most furious she had ever seen the woman. Even from the delusional safety of her crystal ball, Rin feared what Queen Alice would do in her fit of rage.

Stalking towards the mirror, Alice gave her usual command. When the mirror showed her nothing but a swirling vortex, she swore loudly. If Rin still had a beating heart, it would have dropped to her stomach.

"No," Rin whispered, lips wobbling. The mirror's inability to bring up an image of Len didn't mean what she thought it meant. This was simply some magical error and not a sign that Len was—

"Dead!" Alice cried. "Dead, both of them!"

No servants tried to enter the throne room and attempt to calm their queen down. Not after what happened to the last servant who tried to help get the queen's temper tantrum under control. They knew better now.

For a while, Alice raged and screamed. She threw things, breaking many of them in the process. It would have been comical if not for Alice's pure, unrelenting fury.

Alice approached the crystal ball, and Rin pressed herself against the edge. Rin could have sworn she felt her absent heart beating in her throat as anticipation washed over her. Then Alice slammed her palms on the table so hard the crystal ball bounced, jerking Rin up and down.

When she had calmed, breaths coming in and out slowly, Alice stood upright, sat in her throne, and called for a servant. One entered, this being a mouse just a little bigger than the frog. She was so fearful, she could barely squeak, "Yes, your majesty?"

"Find out who sent my pet after the boy and the living dead girl," Alice said so simply that it scared Rin more than if the queen still shouted.

Minutes later, another mouse servant was brought in. This one was better dressed, hinting at a higher status in the order of things. However, Rin knew right away the higher status meant nothing.

"Did you send my wyvern after those children?" Alice asked as if she were merely discussing the weather.

The servant knew better. He gulped and answered, "I assumed if we could get the two in custody—"

"Did you send my wyvern after those children?" Alice repeated, sterner this time.

Stuttering, the servant replied, "Ye-yes, Your Majesty."

For a moment, all was silent. It was the most torturous moment of Rin's life as Alice beheld the trembling mouse with her red eyes. When the queen stood, even her skirts didn't rustle.

"I was saving them," Alice slowly explained. "This body is growing old, and soon I will need a replacement. That is why I lured _two_ children down the rabbit hole instead of one."

The servant looked horribly confused, but Rin sucked in a breath.

"I initially wanted the boy's soul but had to settle for the girl's," Alice continued to explain. "I do like girl bodies, after all, but I can do with a boy's. When _she_ made an appearance and started keeping the girl's body alive, I relaxed knowing that when the time came, I had options. They were coming to me, anyway. For some hilariously heroic quest, no doubt. All I had to do was wait for them to bring themselves to me. I would have had the bodies of both a girl and a boy ready for when the time came to shed this skin. Now I don't, and it's all your fault."

"Please, Your Majesty," the servant tried despite his immense lack of understanding.

Before he could say another word, Alice screeched at the top of her lungs, "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

The guards must have been waiting for the order, since they stormed into the throne room and dragged the servant away in a matter of seconds.

Exhausted, Alice slumped back into her throne. She rested her face in her hand and sighed. "I never should have lured that girl here to begin with," she muttered.

While Alice kept mumbling, Rin slowly stood and walked as close to the queen as the crystal ball would allow. Rin tilted her head to the side and blinked. When Alice slammed her hands onto the table, it loosened the crystal ball from its place. Yet this wasn't the thing Rin noticed that she cared about in the moment.

Without even trying, Rin was beginning to put the pieces of this mystery together.

On the back of Alice's hand was a green club, just like the yellow half-heart Marks Rin and Len had on their hands.

* * *

Len's head throbbed as if someone had beaten him over the head with a bat multiple times. When Len opened his eyes, the light was too bright. Squinting, he tried to make sense of his surroundings.

A girl hovered over him. He was about to ask Miku if she was all right, but as his eyes adjusted, he saw that girl wasn't Miku. Whoever she was, Len had never seen her before.

"Are you okay?" she asked, reaching out a hand to cradle the back of Len's neck and help him sit upright.

Instead of answering, Len had his own question. His words sounded weak when he said them. "Where are the others?"

"Get off of me!" Ruko's shout answered part of that question.

This new arrival holding him up, Len followed the direction of Ruko's voice to see her pushing away a green-haired girl. The greenette crossed her arms and huffed. Ruko was soaked and looked roughed up, but her hard glare and the way she pushed herself to her feet without assistance was all Len needed to see.

Knowing that Ruko was fine, Len searched for Miku. When he saw her lying on her back, a girl with dark skin and purple hair leaning over her, his heart stopped. Miku looked beaten, and she wasn't moving.

"Miku!" Pushing away from the girl beside him, Len crawled towards Miku and took her hand in his own. Miku was too pale, and her hand was ice in his. He called her again and again, but she didn't reply.

"Hypothermia," the dark-skinned girl breathed. "What happened? Why were the three of you in the water?"

"We jumped in to escape a wyvern," Ruko supplied as she walked closer. If any of the other girls were surprised to hear such a thing, they didn't show it.

"She must have gone into shock," the other girl muttered. To her companions, "Lapis, Gumi, fly ahead and tell the doctor we have a girl who needs treatment immediately. Do everything he says to prepare, got it?"

"Sure thing, boss!" the greenette exclaimed before pulling on the arm of the last girl. "Let's go, Lapis."

The girl, Lapis, pulled away. "Merli, won't you need help carrying her?"

"I'm not flying," Merli explained, and it was then Len noticed that all three of these girls had butterfly wings protruding out of their backs. "We're going to carry her on foot until more help can come. Now go! Every second you waste here is a second less this girl has at ever waking up again."

As the two flew away, Merli turned to Len and gave him an order. However, he could barely hear it over his beating heart. Already Rin's face was paler than when Len believed she was dead, and he didn't want to think what would happen if this body really did die with Miku inside.

"Move it!" Ruko snapped, pushing Len out of the way. "If you won't help, then I will."

Helpless, Len watched as Merli and Ruko picked Miku up by the shoulders and knees and began carrying her away. Miku's head rolled to the side, and she gave no signs that she was awake. Without being told, Len knew that if Miku died in Rin's body, she and Rin would both die in different but final ways.

"Come on, Len!" Ruko shouted when she realized he wasn't following. "If you won't help us carry Miku, at least keep watch in case we need to set her down and defend ourselves."

Although Len wanted to stay on the ground, he knew Ruko had a point. Besides, he wouldn't help Miku by sitting on the dirt and watching her get carried away. He had to do something, even if that something was stay by her side as life slowly but surely dripped from her paling form just as the water dripped from her clothes.


	11. Chapter 11

Len did not leave Miku's side for long periods of time while she was unconscious. When he needed to eat, he sat at the corner of her room and quickly but quietly ate the food brought to him. When he needed to relieve himself, he was never gone for more than five minutes. When it was time to sleep, Len slept in the chair beside her bed. He wouldn't leave her, not until she was awake and aware of her surroundings.

They resided inside a hollowed tree, and it reminded Len sort of a wooden hotel. The furniture wasn't stumps and leaves as he expected, but tables and chairs built the same way the ones for people who weren't fairy size were. On the other hand, the clothes were different. The fairies had a way of turning flower petals - not talking flowers, Len was sad to hear - into a wearable fabric that never dried out. What their process was to do this, they wouldn't say.

So Miku was dressed in lily while covered with rose sheets. It was a strange sight, almost like a painting. If only Miku was awake to enjoy it.

On the third day, Miku regained consciousness. Len filled her in on what had happened and how and where she was being treated, although she seemed somewhat dazed the entire time.

"Are fairies great healers?" he asked, wanting to know why Miku kept smiling as he told her about them.

"I don't know," she answered, eyelids closing. "I just like hearing the sound of your voice."

Then she drifted off.

When she woke up again a few hours later, she was well enough to sit up and eat something. As she didn't remember being awake the first time, Len and now Ruko filled her in on what had happened since their visit to the Mad Hatter. It was hard to tell Miku that she had been out for three days.

"What? No!" Miku clutched her sheets. "That gives us—"

"Eighty-four days," Ruko finished. "We know."

"We need to go now if we're to stop Alice in time!"

"Miku," Len called, placing a hand on her wrist, "you could have _died_ had we not been found by friendly fairies. You're still not completely healed, either. If you die in Rin's body . . ."

"Rin will have no body to return to, and I will die for good," Miku finished. She sighed and leaned back, resting her head on the pillow provided to her. "We can't wait too long to return to our quest. We're on a time limit."

"We have more than two months' worth of time," Ruko reminded her. "A few days getting you back on your feet in the proper way won't hurt anything."

"It really is in the best interest of your journey that you do take the time to recover," Merli said as she, Lapis, and Gumi now entered the room. When Miku asked who she was, Merli answered, "Right, you and I have not had a formal introduction yet.

"My name is Merli, and I am queen of the faries. You, I know, are Miku, the living dead girl, residing in the body of Len's sister. Your true body has been stolen by Alice."

Face growing pale, Miku said nothing. The other two faries introduced themselves.

"I'm Lapis," said the small fairy with the blue hair. "I'm the younger sister of Merli."

"I'm Gumi," the greenette tilted her head downwards slightly, "the queen's right-hand woman."

"They have been helping us decipher the prophecy," Ruko added.

"Wait, you told them everything?!" Miku exclaimed, pale face growing paler.

"We kind of had to if they were going to keep treating you," Len replied, looking at the hand that wasn't holding Miku's wrist. "After Ruko and I felt better, we had to tell them who we were and what we were doing if they weren't going to throw the three of us back out. You needed the treatment, so Ruko and I complied."

"We are no enemies of yours," Merli cut in, slowly approaching Miku's bed. "In fact, we may be allies."

"How so?" Miku questioned, brows furrowed.

"You didn't tell us this," Ruko said, snorting. "You only said you weren't going to cast us out."

"But they did tell us they were going to help with the prophecy," Len reminded Ruko.

"Which we did," Gumi proclaimed. "It took a lot of searching and sleepless nights, but we found that poem the Mad Hatter gave you a few days ago. It's legit."

"And we just now have some idea what the meaning behind it all is," Lapis finished quietly.

The fairies sat on the stools they brought into the room, Miku lied in her bed across from them, and Len and Ruko sat by her sides. It was an odd circle of sorts. Merli laid out the written prophecy on the foot of the bed. Finger following the words, she read the prophecy aloud.

_"__Little dream who refuses to die  
__Creates a mess in which to hide.  
__Paths of blood, deadly rose,  
__A beauty none could oppose.  
__Two hearts beating as one  
__Fight against what's already done.  
__Fear, Key, Mirror –  
__Each one makes the path clearer.  
__The purest soul and death to a friend  
__Is how this nightmare is going to end."_

"We might not be exact," Merli warned after she finished the reading, "but so much of the prophecy has already come to pass. Look at the first two lines. _'Little dream who refuses to die creates a mess in which to hide.'_ This refers to Alice."

"What does Alice have to do with this?" Len asked. It was Ruko who answered.

"Wonderland is built upon dreams. Everything you see here that ever is and ever was and ever will be started as a dream."

"You are correct," Merli said, nodding her approval. "However, not all dreams live on to become something more than dreams."

"Some dreams wither and die," Gumi added. "When a dream disappears . . . that's it. There's no coming back. That dream is gone for good."

"Alice was one such dream," Lapis finished. "She didn't want to disappear, so she struck a deal with the Nightmare. The deal that has ruined so many lives. The deal that you are so familiar with."

"So that's what Alice is," Miku mumbled. "A dream that didn't want to die. It's kind of sad. If I were her, I wouldn't want to die either."

"Yes," Merli replied, "but that's just the way things are. The strong live, and the weak die. Of course, Alice may have been a weak dream, but she is cunning. A clever mind like that is a strength in and of itself."

"Not that she gets a right to go around luring children from their world to steal their bodies," Ruko cut in. "I don't care how strong you are: there's no excuse for hurting innocent people."

"What would you do if you were her?" Gumi demanded. "We're not saying Alice did the right thing, but we are saying she knew what she wanted and did what she could to get it. I don't think you are pure enough to not do the same if you were her."

"Look, we all agree we want to stop Alice," Miku snapped, "but we're not going to get anywhere debating whether or not Alice is a villain." To Merli, "What about the rest of the prophecy?"

Tucking her purple hair behind her ears, Merli continued, "The next part is the list of Alice's victims. _Paths of blood _– Meiko Sakine, the first Alice, a skilled swordswoman. _Deadly rose _– the second Alice, Kaito Shion, a man whose singing voice was said to be as beautiful as a rose. _A beauty none could oppose _– that is you, Miku Hatsune."

Len watched as Miku sunk lower in the bed. Remembering how she appeared as a soul, Len had to admit she was beautiful. It was no wonder Alice had chosen her.

"_Two hearts beating as one _– the twins, I believe," Merli resumed. "The rest tells of what is to come, so it's a lot harder to understand the meaning. _'Fight against what's already done.'_ This could mean anything. What's already done? Alice stealing Rin's soul? Alice sacrificing Rin's soul? Something else we have yet to consider?"

"I hope it's not Alice sacrificing Rin's soul," Len muttered, his free hand curling into a fist. From his peripheral, he watched as Miku placed her free hand over the one he had on her wrist. He turned his palm upward so that their fingers could interlace.

"_Fear, Key, Mirror – Each one makes the path clearer_," Merli finished. "This was the hardest part of all. However, Lapis had a suggestion."

Realizing that the attention was now on her, Lapis blushed and quickly said, "Maybe this is literal. As you get one piece of the puzzle, the next step becomes clear. Fear is the first part, and once you obtain fear, the rest will begin to fall into place."

"But how do we get fear?" Len asked.

Ruko answered Len's question with one of her own. "That depends, do you believe in legends?"

"The legends are true," Merli confirmed, "but even if this prophecy means what we think it means, this is still too dangerous a mission. The prophecy strongly suggests that one of you will die. This might be the part that kills one of you."

"After all," Gumi said, "_nobody_ has been able to obtain fear without either going mad or dying altogether. Most of those people don't even make it to fear in the first place."

"Hey, Wonderland novice here," Len interrupted, holding a hand up. "You all seem to have a good idea how to get our hands on fear, but I don't have the slightest clue. Would anyone care telling me what it is you're talking about?"

Squeezing Len's hand, Miku said, "We're saying that the prophecy might be telling us to literally find the incarnation of fear. We need the Jabberwock on our side. In order to do that . . . we have to find the Vorpal Blade."


	12. Chapter 12

Miku was more than grateful when she felt well enough to move around again. The days were quickly ticking by, and she didn't want to waste another minute. She couldn't be the reason anyone else was hurt.

"First things first," Merli said after Miku had gotten out of bed and dressed in the clothes Teto had given her, which the fairies cleaned while Miku recovered, "we need to get you three back to your normal sizes."

"Yeah, it would be great not being three inches tall," Ruko muttered, crossing her arms. The trio along with Merli and Lapis sat in an empty room, rain falling outside.

"I have a wizard friend named Cul who can undo what the mushrooms did to your height, since you lost the rest," Lapis said, trying to bring positive light into the conversation. "It's about a day away, but it won't take her long to return you to normal after we find her wagon."

"Then we can point you in the way of the Cave of Reflections," Merli finished. "Lucky for you, Cul's wagon is on the way to the cave. You won't have to backtrack or anything else of the sort."

"Wonderful." Miku sighed in relief. "So, will you be joining us for the trip?"

"Only until we find Cul, but from there you're on your own." Merli stood from the table. "Rest tonight, for we leave at sunrise."

After Merli and her sister had gone, the trio sat around the room, plotting their next course of action.

"So," Ruko began, "after we're back to our normal sizes and find the Cave of Reflections, how exactly do we plan to get the Vorpal Blade without going crazy in the process?"

"Do we really need this Vorpal Blade to defeat Alice?" Len asked, hugging himself. "It sounds dangerous."

"If we're to even think we might be able to stand against Alice, we need all the help we can get," Miku answered. "Don't you know what the Jabberwock is?"

When Len shook his head, it was Ruko who explained, "According to legend, the Jabberwock is the embodiment of fear itself. It can make you see, hear, and feel your greatest fears as if you are truly living them out."

"That sounds terrible!" Len exclaimed.

"It gets better!" Ruko replied, something akin to excitement lighting up her features. "Before the Jabberwock was sealed away, it was able to take out nearly an entire army in one move! Dozens dead in minutes! Under the Jabberwock's influence, it's possible you might be scared to death from the illusions alone!"

Len's face dramatically paled. "We're trying to retrieve _that_?!"

"It's possible." Miku glared at Ruko, telling her without words to be quiet. "The Vorpal Blade controls the Jabberwock, so if we have the blade, the Jabberwock can't hurt us. However, it's getting the blade itself that will be the challenge. The Jabberwock's power emits from the Vorpal Blade. The closer we get to the blade, the stronger its power in using our fears against us."

"That's scary," Len supplied, to which Ruko added as if it was a disappointment to her, "Yeah, but it won't be enough to scare you to death."

"It won't kill us," Miku confirmed, "but we can still be driven crazy if we let the Jabberwock's power overwhelm us."

"And how do we keep ourselves from being overwhelmed by our greatest fears?" Len asked, hoping against hope there was a way none of them had to go after such a dangerous object just to control an even more dangerous creature.

When Miku answered, she sounded just as uncertain as Len felt. "We have to overcome our greatest fears if we are to secure the Jabberwock."

* * *

_Wonderland should be renamed Wanderland,_ Len lamely thought as he and the girls all walked towards the wizard's home. So far, his and Miku's quest to stop Alice and save Rin had consisted mostly of walking. It made sense since so much of their journey required them to travel from place to place, but as his legs screamed in protest, Len wished that for once they could find a ride or something.

"We'll need to be careful when we enter the garden," Merli warned after they had been walking for hours, stopping to rest only twice. For the most part, the trip had been spent in silence. "The flowers aren't all that friendly."

"Flowers?" Miku groaned. "Not like the ones in the Boro Grove, I hope."

"Some think they're better, and other's think they're worse." Lapis shrugged. "After today, you'll know which side you fall under."

"Maybe I just won't like flowers ever again," Len muttered.

Ruko snorted. "You're a guy, and guys aren't supposed to like flowers."

"Pardon me, but I can like flowers if I want."

"Boys who like flowers are sissies."

"That's not true!"

"Then why are you one of them?"

"Oh, be quiet you two!" Miku snapped. "Must you really fight?"

"I'm bored and need something to do to pass the time," Ruko said. She jogged until she was walking beside Miku. "Have you formed any plans for getting the Vorpal Blade?"

"Still working on that."

"You can't plan to face your greatest fears," Merli cut in. "You can only do it."

Len frowned. Impulsive decisions were what got him and Rin into this mess in the first place. He wasn't sure he was ready to make more when he had already lost so much.

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it," Miku finally decided after a moment of thought. "Right now, we need to put all our energy into finding your wizard friend."

Len was more than ready to be back to his normal size. As he and the others walked down the path, Len was paranoid a wild squirrel or chipmunk would come around and attack them. The very ants were far bigger than he ever wanted to see an ant. He felt lost in this size, so much further below the sky than before. The world stretched on and on. Until now, he never truly understood how an insect saw the world.

Unlike the Boro Grove, the flower garden didn't have a noticeable entrance. At first the grass changed from long, thin blades to thick, dark green ones. Then bushes came into view. Finally, the flowers. All the flowers were bright shades of blue, orange, purple, red, and pink. They stood taller than him and his companions. Instead of the flowers they were, the flora appeared more like colorful trees.

"This place doesn't seem so bad," Len whispered to Miku as they continued to walk past bunches upon bunches of flowers.

"That's what you think right before everything goes downhill," Miku replied.

Even though Miku wasn't talking about the Boro Grove, the memory popped into Len's head anyway. Miku was right. It was as Len thought how harmless the grove really was that it lashed out to keep him as its own.

"Oh, look!" exclaimed a new voice. It sounded as if it came from above. "It's the fairy princesses!"

"Who is that with them?" another voice asked. "Are they new types of flowers?"

"Can't be," answered a third. "They look an awful lot like the fairies, but they're missing their pretty wings."

Looking up, Len felt his heart stop at the sight. The flowers had faces. Every single flower studied him, Miku, and Ruko with human eyes and talked to each other with human mouths. It was the sight from which nightmares were made.

"What do the fairy princesses and their companions want with us?" It was a lavender-colored flower that resembled a rose who spoke.

"We merely wish to pass through," Merli said. "We are sorry if we have disrupted you."

"Merely wish to pass through, eh?" Another flower crackled. "How rude! You want to pass through _our_ garden without so much as stopping for a visit? Or without at least asking permission to do so? Typical."

"Princesses are so entitled," still another flower said. "They think they own everything so they can just go wherever they please, bringing along whomever they want. No respect for other flower's property!"

"Just keep walking," Lapis quietly advised the trio. "Ignore them, and keep walking."

Len didn't need to be told twice. As the flowers continued to torment the fairy princesses and their companions, all Len wanted was to get out of the garden. Fists pressed to his sides, he kept marching along with the others.

"Wait," another flower said after a while. "Is this who I think it is?"

Before anyone could figure out what the flower was talking about, a root emerged from the ground and wrapped itself around Miku's ankle. She fell to the dirt with a cry of surprise. Then the root rose higher and higher into the sky, lifting Miku off the ground and into the air. Miku hung upside down, trying with no success to squirm out of the flower's grasp. The others shouted Miku's name as the flower brought Miku closer to its face.

"It is!" the flower exclaimed. "Everyone, it's the living dead girl!"

All the other flowers began shouting at once.

"The living dead girl?!"

"She never truly disappeared then? How exciting!"

"Won't Queen Alice be thrilled?!"

When all the flowers began chattering how their queen would be most pleased with them if they delivered Miku to her, Len knew they were in trouble.

"You will do no such thing!" Merli shouted, drawing her sword. "Miku is my companion, and we have an agreement that any companion of mine is no victim of yours."

"True," the flower holding Miku agreed, "but we serve the Queen of Hearts, not some fairy princess like you. Our agreement is void in favor of honoring Queen Alice."

"You have till the count of three to gently set Miku down and let her resume traveling with us," Merli warned. "One."

Lapis drew her sword.

"Two."

Sighing, Ruko pulled a knife from her boot.

"Three."

Len wished he had some means to defend himself.

Quick as a flash, Merli lunged forward and swiped at the flower's root. However, the flower pulled away, swinging the shouting Miku around like a ragdoll. The other flowers took action, pulling their own roots out of the ground to fight the others, and Lapis and Ruko jumped in to watch Merli's back. So much of Len wanted to run away and take cover. The smaller, quiet parts wanted to fight back to protect Miku.

_She came back for me when it would have been much easier to leave,_ Len reminded himself as he watched his companions fight off the flowers who fought viciously to keep Miku in their custody. _Now it's my turn to do the same._

Watching as the flowers pulled their roots even further from the ground to give them mobility, Len quickly dug in his pack for a weapon of sorts. Nothing. Len gritted his teeth and looked around. Merli's pack was discarded a few feet away. If anyone had something he could use, it would be Merli.

Len wasted no time. He zig-zagged through the flowers as they approached him, dodging every attack. Yet one wrapped its root around his ankle, sending him crashing to the ground just a few inches away from Merli's pack.

"No, you don't," the flower hissed. "If Queen Alice wants her living dead girl back, she will definitely want the packaged deal that came with it."

It was with no success Len tried to kick away. When he saw other flowers getting closer, he bit back a scream. Now was not the time to cry. His companions needed him. Miku needed him.

Heart hammering, blood rushing in his ears, and all his senses heightened, Len jerked himself forward as far as he could. His fingers just brushed the pack. The flower laughed at him. The approaching flowers crackled with delight. Looking up, Len saw Miku's face turning red from all the blood rushing to her head and the others surrounded in a fight they were close to losing.

With a burst of determination, Len stretched his arm out as far as he could and further. His fingers wrapped around the pack. Yanking it forward, Len watched the contents fall out and grabbed the most dangerous one he could.

Thoughts were cast aside in favor of instinct. Knife in hand, Len lashed at the flower and cut off the root wrapped around his ankle. The flower cried in pain, the sound agonizing.

Len jumped to his feet and extended the knife. He pointed it at the oncoming flowers. They all paused for a moment, hissed at Len, and charged towards him.

Suddenly filled with a courage he never had before, Len ran towards the charging flowers. Yet at the last minute, he dropped to the dirt and slid past them. Before either he or they could process what had happened, Len was back on his feet and running towards the flower that had Miku.

"Len, be careful!" Ruko shouted as she cut down the flowers circling her and Lapis. The small fairy helped to keep the flowers back, but both girls were still surrounded.

Merli tried to get the flower holding Miku hostage, but other flowers kept her at bay.

Crying out, Len charged the flowers and joined Merli in taking them down. He blindly slashed and sliced the knife through the air, forcing the flowers back. It was as if he wasn't in control of himself. Somehow, Len felt guided by an instinct that knew more about knife wielding than he did. The practiced Merli took advantage of the distraction Len caused and ran towards the flower holding Miku.

Merli jumped into the air, using her wings to give her a boost, and cut through the root that held their companion hostage. Miku shouted in surprise as she plummeted towards the earth, but Merli caught her.

As Merli flew down, she cried out, "Run!"

With Miku back with them, Len didn't hesitate to obey. As soon as Merli set Miku on her feet next to Len, the boy took Miku's hand and began to drag her along. The disoriented Miku wobbled on her feet, but soon she regained enough balance to run alongside them.

The three of them first ran towards Ruko and Lapis, who were still fighting off the other flowers. With Merli and Len joining the battle, they were able to push back enough flowers for the five of them to all run free. Sounds of hissing flowers followed. The five ran as fast as their legs would carry them. Len dare not loosen his grip on Miku for even a second.

"We're almost there!" Merli shouted after a minute of sprinting. "The ground's getting too hard for them to plant their roots. Once we make it there, we'll be safe."

Against common sense, Len looked behind to see the flowers still chasing them. Having roots instead of legs, the flowers were not as fast as the humans and fairies. Not that Len was going to slow down and give them a chance to try to catch up.

They ran and ran and ran until long after the soft grass turned back into the ugly thin blades. The bushes faded from view. Rocks began to make up the ground.

It wasn't until Merli stopped and placed her hands on her knees that the others took this as permission to cease their running. Lapis also doubled over and began complaining about how badly her legs hurt. Ruko threw herself backwards and stretched out her limbs as she breathed heavily and loudly. Len and Miku both sat on a rock – which was as big as a boulder to them in their current height – and rested their heads between their respective knees.

"I will never, ever again in my entire life admire another flower, no matter how pretty it is," Len vowed when he finally gathered enough of his breath to speak.

Still gasping, Miku simply replied, "Ditto."


	13. Chapter 13

"This is it," Merli said as the five of them approached a wooden wagon. After the event with the flowers, nobody spoke for the duration of the journey. It wasn't until now the silence was broken.

"Finally!" Ruko exclaimed, suddenly filled with enough energy to stop dragging her feet and march ahead of the others. Lapis called after Ruko to slow down and ran after her.

"I can't wait to be back to my normal size," Len told Miku, who had spent the latter part of their journey looking ahead as if she didn't see anything. Even now, all she did to acknowledge that Len had spoken was blink. "Have you met any wizards before?"

A subtle nod was her only response. Len decided to not push further.

"Nobody's home," Len heard Lapis say as he and Miku joined the group. The smaller fairy frowned as she turned to the others. "Cul might be out running errands. She should be back before sunset."

"And time continues to be lost." Ruko pushed herself up a step towards the wagon's entrance and sat down. "How long will it take her to make this potion, and how long for it to take effect?"

"No more than a couple hours for both to happen," Merli said, sitting beside Ruko. "Potions are typically fast acting, and Cul is good about keeping a full stock of supplies so she should already have everything on hand."

"Good." Ruko stretched her legs out in front of her and reclined on her elbows. "Until she returns, I'm going to sunbathe."

"Shouldn't we figure out what we're going to do once we reach the Cave of Reflections?" Len suggested as he sat across from Ruko, Miku by his side.

"Go in, find the Vorpal Blade, and leave with it," Ruko replied. "All without going mad in the process. Honestly, we can't plan beyond that."

"Ruko's right," Miku said, speaking for the first time since the flower attack. "The Jabberwock will force us to experience some of our greatest fears as we try to retrieve its blade. No matter how much you mentally prepare, you can never anticipate how it's going to feel facing the very things you don't ever want to face."

As Miku said this, she retained that faraway look in her eyes. Len could only imagine that after the flowers tried to capture her to give her to the queen, Miku realized just how dangerous this quest truly was. His almost being turned into a tree was one thing, but talking flowers planning to give Miku to the very being who caused all her pain in the first place was another.

"I can't decide if you three are very brave or very foolish," Merli said, also leaning back to soak up the sun.

There was no hesitation when Ruko replied, "Both."

Len wanted to verbalize his agreement but chose not to. Once he said it out loud, it became real. For just a few moments longer, even if he was deluding himself in the process, Len wanted to pretend that it was all only a bad dream.

While they waited for Cul to return, the five sat and sunbathed. The fairy princesses talked quietly between themselves. Ruko lied down and let the sun bake her in her dark clothes. Miku hugged her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Len tied and untied his rope again and again to pass the time.

"I have a lot of fears," Miku quietly admitted after a while. "I don't know which ones the Jabberwock will force me to face, and that alone scares me."

"I don't have a lot, but they are deep rooted," Len replied just as softly. "Though I can't imagine any of them being worse than when I thought I killed Rin."

"It can get worse, I'm sure."

"I'm not sure what could possibly be worse." Len sighed. "Well, save for losing all hope of ever seeing her again, that is."

Before another word could be said, something blocked out the sun. The five of them simultaneously looked up to see a figure standing over them. It leaned closer, and Len saw scarlet eyes looking down on them.

"Well, well, well," a red headed woman smiled, "what do we have here?"

* * *

"I've heard a lot of crazy things, but this definitely takes the cake." The wizard Cul rummaged through her cupboards, pulling out all the necessary things to make the potion to return Miku, Len, and Ruko back to their normal size. "You want to get _the Vorpal Blade_?"

"Of course I do," Miku said, sitting on the table with the others. She had recomposed herself when the wizard arrived to try to again be the leader she was supposed to be. The quest to defeat Alice was all her idea. Len helped because Alice took something important from him as well. Ruko just happened to unfortunately get stuck in the midst of all this mess.

"There are two possible outcomes here," Cul said as she began setting the ingredients on the counter. "Either you are the ones spoken of in the prophecy and your mission is a promised success, or you aren't the prophesized ones and this will ultimately end in failure."

"What a lovely thought," Len muttered. He sat beside Miku, Ruko on Miku's other side. The fairy princesses sat across from the trio. "There's a fifty-fifty chance we might die."

"Not foolproof odds, but I'll take it." Ruko was sharpening her knives again. Miku wondered if this was a nervous habit for Ruko, just like Len and his knot tying.

"Here we go," Cul mused as she began mixing the ingredients together.

Having nothing better to do, Miku watched the wizard work. Cul and the faries conversed as the potion was being made. They must have been good friends, for their conversations were more over trivial things and what they had been up to since they saw each other last and less of anything having to do with Miku and the others.

"Let it sit for ten minutes, and we'll give it a go," Cul said an hour later when the potion was nearly done. Sitting at the table, Cul rested her chin on her palm, looked at the small trio, and asked, "Are you really sure you can get your hands on the Vorpal Blade?"

"I don't see what other choices we have," Miku answered, wringing her hands. "The queen's too heavily guarded for Len and me to sneak into the castle no matter how much I wish that was the case. We could try to raise an army, but that would be a joke. Who would want to follow a couple of kids into a revolt that could get everyone killed? If we want followers, we have to prove that we're capable. Besides, even if nobody wants to overthrow the queen, the Jabberwock is worth an army anyway."

Cul hummed before saying, "This isn't a plan to get your body and that girl's soul back. This is a revolution you're trying to create."

Miku ignored the look of pure shock Len sent her way. When they met, all Miku really wanted was to take back what was stolen from them. It wasn't until time began to pass Miku realized what extents would need to be taken in order to achieve those once graspable goals. "If there's another way to get to Alice, I would love to hear it."

"Are you going to kill Alice?"

"I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure nobody else suffers the way Len and I have," Miku replied. She sighed. "I just want to right the wrongs done to me and the ones I love."

"Let's not forget the rest of us who get to suffer from the queen's rule." Cul sat up straighter. "If the queen hears about this, she's going to fight like a madwoman to put an end to it before it can begin."

"Then we better show her that we won't be afraid to fight back." Miku looked at the potion. "Is it ready yet?"

Cul had everyone go outside before she gave the trio the growing potion.

"Will it return us to our former sizes?" Len asked.

"More or less," Cul answered before giving them each a fairy-sized cup of the stuff.

Unlike the mushrooms, Miku could feel the potion working. Her bones stretched, the muscles along with it. She winced at the pain and bit her lip as she felt as if her skin was going to be torn right off her body. Instead of watching the world shrink, Miku kept her eyes tightly shut. It was difficult to not screw up her face as her limbs cried out from being stretched like taffy.

When the pain slowly subsided, Miku opened her eyes to see she and the others were back to their normal heights. _Or close to it, _she thought. Miku didn't feel any taller or shorter, but she knew these height potions weren't always the most accurate despite the skills of the wizard who made them.

"The sun is setting," Merli said, flying up so she could speak to Miku and the others at eye level. "You had ought to rest for the night. You must be as mentally prepared as possible before you enter the Cave of Reflections."

"Where is this cave, anyway?" Miku asked, extending her hand.

Merli landed on Miku's palm, pointed behind them, and answered, "Up that mountain. The entrance is hidden within a maze, but it isn't impossible to find. Entering the cave and trying to find its center is the hard part."

"Any words of advice?" Len walked closer. Lapis flew up and landed on his shoulder, and he smiled at the fairy.

"Don't succumb to the fear," was all Lapis said.

"And don't accidentally kill anyone," Ruko added, arms crossed. Somehow Miku knew Ruko wasn't joking.

* * *

Len couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, his nightmares attacking him even as he lay awake. If he was filled with fear miles away from the Cave of Reflections and the monster within, he dreaded to know how he would handle going to retrieve the Vorpal Blade. Perhaps he could leave the job to Miku and Ruko. Only he would never forgive himself if he stayed behind while they went in only to never exit again.

A thud surprised Len from where he lay on the floor in Cul's wagon. They had eaten a light dinner – he and Miku both could only stomach so much – and went to bed right after sunset. He looked around now, Cul in her bed and the fairy princesses within a basket and Ruko on the floor. Miku was missing. So was her pack.

Wasting no time, Len jumped to his feet, grabbed his own pack, and ran out into the night. He was careful to close the door quietly before he bolted towards the mountain. It wasn't long before Rin's silhouetted figure became visible in the moonlight.

"What are you doing?" Len asked, running up to walk side-by-side with Miku. She didn't slow her pace as she marched forward, but she didn't speed up to try to lose Len either.

"I couldn't sleep," Miku answered. "The . . . the anticipation was getting to me. I had to try to get the blade now or the anxiety would have killed me in the night."

Len frowned. "I think you might be exaggerating a little bit."

"Okay, I am a little bit," Miku admitted, "but I couldn't wait any longer. I have to go after the Vorpal Blade now."

"And you thought to do it without Ruko and me?"

"Ruko might not be the best person to bring with inside the Cave of Reflections," Miku said slowly and softly, as if Ruko would overhear her and jump out of hiding to yell at Miku over such an accusation. "She hinted as much earlier. If she's scared enough, she might fight back. I don't know or want to risk if she would accidentally fight and hurt either of us in the process."

Try as he might, Len couldn't deny that he got the same impression as well. "What about me?" he asked. "Why were you trying to leave me behind?"

"I wasn't," Miku answered. "I could tell you were awake, but I didn't know if you would actually want to come. All I could do was walk away and hope you would follow. Better for you to stay behind than have to tell me no. But . . . Look, Len, if you want to turn back now, I can't blame you."

"I'm not going anywhere," Len vowed, eyes narrowed. Seeing Miku's wobbling lower lip, he knew it was his turn to be the brave one. Strangely enough, he didn't feel afraid anymore. "I'm not going to leave you to do this by yourself."

"Because you need to protect Rin's body," Miku said too quietly.

"And you." Len latched onto Miku's wrist, forcing her to stop where she was. Looking Miku in the eye, he said, "Yes, I want to protect Rin's body, but I want to protect you too. You and I are a team. Partners, if you will." Smiling weakly, he added, "If things were different, if maybe we knew each other in a different life, I like to think we could have been friends."

For a while, Miku didn't say anything. Her eyes remained locked on Len, and her lips parted as if she wanted to speak but didn't have the words to say. Brows knit together, Miku pursed her lips, looked at the ground, and then turned her attention back towards Len. Although she looked sad, she still smiled as she said, "Perhaps we could have been, but partners is good."

Sliding his fingers down so that he was now holding Miku's hand, Len promised, "No matter what, we stick together. We do this together."

Turning her hand around so her fingers could interlace with Len's, Miku returned, "No matter what."


	14. Chapter 14

The Cave of Reflections wasn't filled with mirrors or gems or anything that reflected light, illuminating the path for the duo to take. There were no crystals blinking the little moonlight that entered. Not even a shard of glass was to be found.

Instead the Cave of Reflections was a dark, hungry abyss. Light didn't seem to exist in the cave. Either the magic emitting from the Cave of Reflections kept the light out or ate it so that not a sliver remained.

As Miku and Len stood outside the cave's entrance, they tried with no success to steady their breathing. Their shadows from the moonlight fell towards the cave only to be swallowed whole. If this was the power of the magic just from the outside, neither could begin to imagine how strong this same power would be as they grew closer to its source.

"Again," Miku breathed, her very words quiet as if they too were being sucked into the dark labyrinth she and Len intended to enter, "I won't blame you if you decide to turn back now."

"Will you turn back as well?" Len asked, his own words somehow stronger than Miku's.

"I'm not going back until I have the Vorpal Blade in my hands," Miku answered. "I'm not going to go through the trouble of sneaking out in the night just to return empty handed."

"Then it looks like I'm going in, too."

Despite their intentions to enter, both stood still as statues. Eventually Miku admitted as if the words she didn't want to speak were pulled from her very breath, "I'm scared."

"Me, too," Len replied, now sounding fearful himself. "However, I won't let my fear control me anymore. If we need this thing to save Rin, then I'm going after it. I . . . I'm more scared of losing Rin forever than whatever I could possibly face in there."

Determined, Len stepped forward. He stopped when Miku, whose hand he still held, didn't budge. Tugging her hand gently, Len softly reminded, "Together."

Miku nodded, swallowing whatever she felt. "Together."

They walked into the darkness.

The further they went, the darker it became.

Darker.

Darker.

Yet darker still.

It was a matter of seconds before even the darkness itself was engulfed. This place wasn't absent of light. It was absent of life itself.

Miku gripped Len's hand like a tourniquet. His fingers were her anchor, her reassurance. The only other thing Miku had to know he was beside her was the sound of his breathing. Shallow, but trying to be steady. If he wanted to speak, the words would not come. Such was okay with Miku. Her own words were lost on her as well.

A stone manifested in Miku's chest. Breathing became laborious. Her heart threatened to explode from within her chest. Blood rushed behind her ears. A sense of impending doom weighed over her.

Try as she might, Miku couldn't figure out the answers to her overwhelming questions. She wanted to know how long she and Len had been walking, how long they had been the only two left alive, and how long it would be before they too ceased to exist. Her short, shallow breaths were all she could hear.

Somehow, Len was able to speak. His voice, the only life in this abyss of death, pierced through long enough for Miku to hear him say, "We must be getting close."

"I want to go back!" Miku tried to shout, but her words only came out in a soft squeak. Back where, she didn't know. Just anywhere away from there. "I can't do it. I can't! I want to go back. I want to go back to before it ever began."

"Miku, we have to keep going forward," Len replied, his fingers squeezing hers. He must have been trying to reassure her, but Miku felt as if Len was trying to pinch off her fingers. "The only way out is forward."

Miku wanted to argue. She wanted to scream and cry. What she wouldn't have given in that moment so she could break away from Len and run away as fast and as far as she could. Even if escape was an illusion, it was still something she needed. Another minute here, and she would be driven completely mad.

"Is there anybody out there?"

Miku froze in place, and she felt Len do the same. Neither of them had spoken.

"Is there anybody out there?"

It wasn't a voice. They weren't even spoken words. It was a haunting chant, speaking yet not as it filled the void with its echoing sounds.

"Is there anybody . . . out there?"

Aggression. Whatever it was planned to hurt them. Somehow, Miku believed answering the question would only make it worse.

"Is there anybody . . . out there?!"

Neither she nor Len spoke. They didn't need to. Simultaneously, both had the same thought.

_Run!_

They broke off into a sprint.

"Is there anybody . . . OUT THERE?!"

Miku was dragged down by Len's weight. She fell to the rocky ground with a soundless thud, her arm protesting as it held Len's suspended weight. Even without sight, Miku knew the ground had given way beneath her companion.

"MIKU!" Len cried, sounding truly terrified for the first time since entering the cave.

"I got you!" Miku said as she adjusted herself so that she lay on her stomach and could wrap both her hands around Len's. "Don't let go!"

"I wasn't planning on it!"

All air was sucked from her lungs. Her racing heart came to a halt. Death would soon follow.

Still Miku tried to push it all aside. Len needed her, and she needed him. Though try as she might, Miku could not pull Len back to safety, or whatever illusion of safety they had before.

Len was slipping. Crying out, he found her and wrapped his dangling hand around where hers held onto his other. Nonetheless, he continued to slip.

"Hold on!" Miku shouted, but it was futile. Len was already holding on the best he could, but it still wasn't enough when he could hold on no better than she could pull him up. He continued to slip, until Miku clung to nothing but air.

"LEN!" His name tore out of her, taking the little air she had left. Careful to not fall after him, Miku waved her arms around frantically in search of the boy she would not find.

No part of Miku wanted to admit Len was gone. However, her denial could not last forever. Not when she had to decide whether to keep moving or stay where she was in a place as dark and terrifying as this.

Whispering an apology, Miku pushed herself to her feet. She didn't know which way was forward and which way was backward. Nonetheless, she kept moving in hopes of somehow finding a way out of this living nightmare.

* * *

When Len collided with the ground, it didn't hurt like he expected it to. No pain flared throughout his body. No pointy rocks stabbed him. Either he wasn't in pain, or he was numb to it. Len hoped he didn't break any bones, not when he wasn't able to feel anything to indicate such.

Len slowly got to his feet and looked up. "Miku?!" he called. No response. It didn't feel as if he fell a long ways, but that didn't mean Miku would still be able to hear him.

_I have to keep moving,_ Len told himself. _I will find Miku again. Even if I get my hands on the Vorpal Blade first, I won't leave this stupid cave without Miku._

Although his heart hammered against his rib cage, Len marched. There was no denying the sense of terror hanging over his shoulder like an unwanted guest, but he didn't give into it. If he didn't control fear, it would control him. Not that it was easy, but it made the journey through the cave bearable. Until the Jabberwock's power started to show him what it was truly capable of doing, of course.

Feeling his stomach sink deeper and deeper, Len forced one foot in front of the other. It was quiet. Too quiet. He half expected something to jump out and scream at him. Or for someone to suddenly grab his shoulder from behind.

Neither of those things happened. Instead a voice called out to him. Not in anger or hatred, but of love and the desire to see him.

It wasn't what the voice said that froze Len in place, but the speaker of the voice.

"RIN!" Casting aside all senses, Len bolted after the voice. It wasn't Miku speaking with Rin's voice, but it was Rin herself. He didn't know how and he didn't know why, but Len knew without a doubt Rin was calling for him.

"Rin?!" Len questioned, looking around. There was light up ahead. Rin's voice called to him from the light.

"I'm coming, Rin!" Len shouted as he continued his pursuit. "Don't go anywhere! I'm coming to get you!"

When he entered the sphere of light, Rin's smiling face greeted him. It was Rin, cerulean eyes and all. Rin was before him, and she was whole.

Before Len could smile and cry in relief at the sight of his sister and tell her how sorry he was for not protecting her, the happy image changed.

Rin, backed into a corner, face bruised and bloody as she looked up in defiance at her attacker.

Len, not the Len watching but an apparition of himself, a few feet away, curled into a ball as he cried over his own injuries.

A memory. This wasn't a greatest fear brought to life, but one of many memories Len tried so hard to keep buried. Now he stood immobile as he watched one of the darkest pieces of his past play out before him.

Even without sound Len knew what was being said. "Useless children." "Spineless boy." "Ungrateful brat." The insults when on and on, each one coming between the endless supply of blows.

"No wonder your own mother abandoned you," the monster of Len's worst nightmares said in the soundless memory. "There's nothing to be done with such worthless children as the two of you. Too bad my harlot of a sister deemed it necessary to drop her burdens off on my doorstep."

If Len watched himself suffer through the abuse, he could have stomached what he saw playing out. Witnessing it wasn't as bad since he already lived through it. However, it was Rin who was the victim now, and Len struggled to watch the first time. He didn't want there to be a first time. There shouldn't have to be a second time, but the scene was there for him to watch.

Rin was punched, kicked, and thrown around the room. The monster was angry, and the twins "looked at him funny." He made a comment about Len, and overprotective Rin came to his defense. While the monster "taught those two a lesson," Rin never lost her boldness even as the monster tried to beat it out of her. All Len could do was watch and cry, the ever useless brother.

"You can't do anything right, can you?" The memory faded, and Rin, broken and bruised and bloody, stood alone before Len. She glared at him. Malice was etched all over her features. "I stood up for you again and again. How many times did you do that for me, Len? Well, answer me!"

Len couldn't. He tried to speak, but no words came. Instead he was left standing there with his mouth hanging open.

"When we ran away," Rin continued, each word falling deeper and deeper into a growl, "you promised to protect me. You promised things would be different. Then we came to Wonderland, and you killed me! What kind of protection is that? How sick and twisted are you?"

"But you're not dead," Len tried to argue. "Miku and I are—"

"She stole my body!" Rin snapped, silencing Len. "And you let her! You gave some random ghost you met your sister's body, and she ran off with it. How could you do such a thing? How could you justify such a foolish action?"

"It was the only way I could save you." Len's eyes burned. A lump formed in his throat. When he saw Rin again, he thought it would be a happy reunion. He never would have imagined this.

"You wouldn't have to save me if you didn't kill me in the first place," Rin growled. "You're no better than our uncle."

Her words dug deep into Len's chest and exploded from within. Len clutched the fabric above his heart. It took all his strength to not fall to his knees.

Yet none of it hurt as badly as when Rin said, "I never should have taken you with me when I ran away from home. You were useless then, and you are useless now. I hate you."

That brought Len to his knees. Face buried in his hands, Len cried. As he sobbed without restraint, Rin stood over him and verbally abused him some more.

"Useless."

"Weak."

"Stupid crybaby."

Blinking back tears, Len looked up. Rin glared down at him. Her fists were pressed against her sides.

Len took a deep breath and rose to his feet. The crying stopped as soon as it started. Voice cracking only a little, he said, "Congratulations. I actually believed you."

"What are you getting at?" Rin sneered. "I meant what I said, you worthless piece of—"

"I have to say," Len interrupted, quickly calming himself, "you did a near perfect job pretending to be Rin. It's like looking at her reflection. You even got the freckle by the corner of her mouth; it's so faint, most people don't even realize it's there."

"You don't recognize your own sister?" Rin snorted. "Worthless _and_ stupid."

"I wouldn't say that so confidently." Smirking, Len didn't hide how smug he felt for figuring it out. "If you really are my sister, then tell me, 'Rin,' where's your Mark?"

Gasping, the Rin look-alike stared at her hands to see them Mark free. "I'm not in my body," she tried. "You let that Miku girl steal it, remember?"

"Then you should be as Miku was when I met her," Len replied. "Not battered and bruised, but dressed in something pure white. I should have been able to take one look at you and knew you were a soul if you were Rin without her body."

The thing disguised as Rin cursed. "How are you not afraid?! Is not your greatest fear being unable to save your sister?"

"You probably aren't aware, but I'm living through it right now. No illusion can scare me better than the real thing." Too fast for the illusion to register, Len grabbed her by the wrist and ordered, "Take me to Miku."

"And why should I?" the thing demanded.

"Because if I can touch you, I can hurt you." Len narrowed his eyes. "Wear my sister's face all you want, but if you choose to stand in the way of my getting her back, it's going to take a lot more than some magic trick to keep me from making you regret it."

* * *

Arms wrapped tightly around her chest, Miku forced herself to take agonizing step after agonizing step forward. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't even know if Len was all right. All Miku knew was to keep moving. This labyrinth had to end somewhere, or so Miku desperately wanted to believe.

When a familiar figure caught her attention, a smile broke out on Miku's face. "Len!" she exclaimed as she bolted forward.

Len turned around at the sound of his name, but when he saw who called him, he scowled and turned away again.

The immediate and complete dismissal shocked Miku in place. "Len?"

Stretching her hand out, Miku tried to reach for Len. Her fingers grasped nothing but air. Miku took a step forward and tried again. Same result. No matter how close she got, or how far she extended her hand, she couldn't reach Len.

"Len, please," Miku begged, but he would not listen. "Len, please, turn around. Talk to me. Something! Just stop pretending that I don't exist."

For days Miku pleaded with the boy. She kept reaching out, but he was always just out of her grasp. No matter how much Miku cried, Len would not turn around.

Miku screamed until her voice was raw. She cried until she was certain she would drown in her tears. After everything they had been through, Len could not just abandon her like this.

_Why wouldn't he?_ a voice in the back of Miku's head whispered. _You stole his sister's body. His sister is forever lost because of you. No wonder he would hate you. After how you failed him so miserably. Just as you failed and disappointed everyone who had ever loved you._

_That isn't true._ Miku didn't want to believe it was true. She kept crying out to Len.

Days turned into months. Months turned into years. Still Len would not listen.

Even as their hair grayed and their skin bore wrinkles, Len would not heed. Stubborn he was in youth, and stubborn he was in age. Too weak to support herself without aid, Miku collapsed to the ground a long time ago.

"Please, Len," she rasped in her crackled, broken voice. "Please, hear me. See me. After everything we been through, it can't end like this. It just can't."

Finally, Len heard her. His hesitance was there in the way he almost turned around more than once but had to stop himself. Then he gave in and moved his whole body to face Miku.

Only the moment they made eye contact, Len's form turned to dust.

"LEN!" Miku screamed as what was left of her companion drifted to the floor. She crawled towards his remains and reached out only to pull her hand away before her fingertips could graze Len's ashes. He saw her, but before she could reach for him, it was too late.

"No." Miku shook her head, hot fat tears streaming down her saggy cheeks. "No, no, no. No. No! NO!"

Huddled into a ball on the floor, Miku began to cry. She thought all her tears were gone, but now they fell anew. In their failure to save Rin, she had lost Len as well. As upset as Miku was, she truly couldn't have been surprised. Not when she had failed and lost everyone she had ever cared about long before she ever fell down that damn rabbit hole.

"Miku?" Someone reached for her, and Miku violently shooed them away.

"Leave me be!" she screamed. "It's too late to change anything now. Just let me die in my sorrow."

"Miku?" The same person again placed a hand on her shoulder, and this time Miku didn't shake it off. "Miku, whatever you saw, it wasn't real. Please, Miku, look at me."

The more the voice spoke, the more Miku recognize who addressed her. Hoping against hope, Miku tilted her head up. Her heart got stuck in her throat as a fresh wave of tears sprung to the surface.

Len was kneeling next to her, looking at her, touching her. He was _alive_. And young again.

Sucking in a breath, Miku looked at her hands. Young, pink flesh. Not the wrinkled gray hands she had seconds before.

What Miku wanted to do was ask Len what happened. What she actually did was get up enough to throw herself on top of Len. Arms wrapped around his neck, Miku cried into his shoulder.

It was a great comfort when Len's arms responded by holding Miku close. "It's okay," Len's soothing voice promised. "I'm here now. We're together again. It's all going to be okay."

"I thought I lost you," Miku whispered.

"You won't lose me. We're partners. I'm not going anywhere."

Miku held Len like a lifeline. Even though she now knew that what she saw wasn't real, it didn't mean the fear was any less present. The thought made Miku hug Len even tighter.

"Is this sappy moment over yet?"

Surprised, Miku pulled away to see another girl standing behind Len. She looked like Rin, but Miku was the one who wore Rin's skin. Pursing her lips, Miku tried to understand what was going on.

"I found a guide," Len said, helping Miku stand up. "She's going to take us to the Jabberwock."

"Um, excuse me," the girl said, "that wasn't part of our deal."

"Well, it is now," Len replied. He extended his arm. "Lead the way."

The girl blinked, her lips pressed together. "Very well," she finally said. "Besides, I'm quite curious what my master has in store for the likes of you."


	15. Chapter 15

Hand and hand, Miku and Len followed the Rin lookalike to the Jabberwock. Miku was grateful for the contact, her fingers laced through Len's as if she never wanted to let go. Whether it was Rin's body or Miku's very soul that craved the contact with this boy, Miku herself did not know.

All she knew was this was the moment of truth. This would be the event where they would learn if the fairies were correct in assuming retrieving the Vorpal Blade was part of the prophecy. If it wasn't, and Miku and Len both snuck away to reach something they didn't need, they would be walking to their doom.

"You two are absolute fools," the girl said, barely looking at them over her shoulder.

"We know," Len calmly replied.

They turned down corners and followed paths that twisted and turned. Turned and twisted. Twisted and turned.

_Is the path to the Vorpal Blade really this complex, or is she throwing us for a loop?_ Miku wondered.

"What's your name?" Miku asked, surprised at this being more out of interest and not simply to break the tense silence.

The girl faltered but answered all the same. "Oneself."

"What kind of a name is Oneself?" Len seemed genuinely curious, but Oneself interpreted the question differently.

"One you receive when your power draws strength from those who fear themselves!" she snapped.

The anger within the words almost didn't fit. Miku took a deep breath. "Did you have another name?"

"Once. That's all I remember, that I had another name once. What it was and how I lost it, I can't recall. Everything else is with my master."

Miku nodded even though Oneself could not see. Quietly, she looked at Len. If he had any thoughts on Oneself's statement, he didn't voice or show it.

"We're here," Oneself finally announced as they walked into a room of sorts.

Instead of the light that illuminated from Oneself's illusion, this place was lit with moonlight from a hole in the ceiling. The floor and walls were not made of rock as the rest of the Cave of Reflections, but of marble. Gold and silver patterns decorated the floors, and in the middle of it all stood the Vorpal Blade driven into the ground.

"There it is!" Miku exclaimed, her grip on Len's hand tightening. She smiled widely and looked at Len, but the boy frowned. Dropping her smile, Miku asked, "What's wrong?"

"There's no way this is the end," Len answered. "Oneself may have led us here, but that doesn't mean she's just going to let us walk away with the very thing that will allow us to control her master."

"Heh heh. I guess you aren't that much of an idiot after all." Oneself walked towards the center of the room, her form changing with each step.

The blonde locks shifted from the golden rays of the twins' hair to a vibrant lemon as they grew to her ankles. Oneself grew taller and slimmer as she grew closer to the blade, aging from a fourteen-year-old girl to a grown woman. When she turned around to again face Miku and Len, her eyes were a striking gold.

From the shadows, three more figures appeared. A younger boy who looked a lot like Oneself but with dirty blond hair instead of yellow. A man and woman with dark skin, white hair, and crimson eyes. Each one circled the Vorpal Blade. Each one glared at Miku and Len.

"I am Trauma," the dirty blond said.

"I am Paranoia," the white-haired girl whispered.

"I am Hatred," the other guy snarled.

"And you already know me." Oneself winked.

"We protect our master," the four said in unison. "For you to have reached this far, you will now have to face us as we fight alongside the Jabberwock."

"Which would be me." Smoke emitted from the blade, forming a woman's figure. The smoke gained color as it solidified. In a matter of seconds, a woman with long salmon hair stood in front of the blade and grinned wickedly at the teens. "I hear you're looking for me."

Before Miku could speak, the Jabberwock threw out her hand. The fear Miku felt when she first entered the cave and again before Len found her returned with a vengeance. It was enough to drop Miku to her knees.

"Miku!" Len exclaimed, kneeling by her side. He turned his attention towards the Jabberwock. "What did you do to her?!"

"The same thing I'm going to do to you." With that said, the Jabberwock turned her palm towards Len. He fell over, hand clutching the fabric over his heart.

Miku tried to move. However, her limbs were too heavy, and heart too excited, for her to do anything save clutch her chest. If she and Len couldn't move, there was nothing they could do to stop the Jabberwock from doing whatever she wanted to them.

_I'm a failure,_ Miku thought, immobilized by fear. _This is where Len and I die. I was wrong. This is all my fault. Alice wins._

The Jabberwock approached the teens, each casual step echoing in the room. Her four minions merely watched. When she was close enough, the Jabberwock knelt down and studied Miku.

"You're in denial," she stated matter-of-factly, as if she merely commented on the weather. "I can see your memories, Mikaera."

Simply hearing the name sent waves crashing through Miku. She thought she was stunned before, but this shocked her heart to nearly stop beating. That name hadn't been spoken in decades, let alone to address her.

"Mikaera, Mikaera, Mikaera," the Jabberwock repeated, pleased with how the name got a reaction out of Miku. "You did a lot of bad things, you naughty girl. When you came to Wonderland, you thought you could leave it all behind. Then Alice stole your body, and you had to watch her do all those terrible acts you were helpless to do anything about. Your fresh start was ruined, taken away from you by something that's not meant to exist. Now you try to right those wrongs, only for it all to be for naught."

"Leave her alone!"

Miku was so lost in the Jabberwock's ever-changing eyes – sometimes baby blue, sometimes storm gray, sometimes onyx – that she completely forgot Len was right beside her.

Slowly, as if irritated, the Jabberwock turned her attention towards Len. Eyes locked on the boy, she said, "You surprised me by discovering Oneself's scheme. Nobody has ever seen through an illusion before. Perhaps I should have sent Trauma after you and let Oneself have Miku. Oh, well, even someone as great as I is capable of making mistakes."

The Jabberwock stood. "However, I won't make the same mistake again. Your fear isn't overwhelming you. If I'm to kill you, it will have to be through more . . . traditional means."

"Oh, allow me, Mistress!" Hatred exclaimed. When he grinned, he appeared to have shark teeth. "It's been far too long since I got to have a blood bath."

"Permission declined. This is something I should do myself." The Jabberwock pulled a blade from her hip. It was a small sword, but it would be enough to get the job done.

"LEN!" Miku tried to get up and push Len out of the way, but she was stuck in place. The shame and guilt brought up from hearing her true name weighed Miku down. _Someone knows._ It was the one thought that kept echoing in the back of her mind even as she knew she was about to watch Len be slaughtered in front of her. _Someone knows who I am. Someone knows what I did. Nobody was ever supposed to know._

Steel flashed, and Miku cried out Len's name again.

"Gahh!" Len could do no more than Miku to get out of the way. Miku watched as the sword entered his chest and exited through his back. Looking down, Len seemed to believe what just happened less than Miku did. Blood dripped from his mouth and down his chin. He shifted his gaze from the hilt of the sword sticking out of his chest to Miku. For a second, they stared at each other. Then, he fell over and moved no more than if he was made of stone.

"LEN!" Miku snapped her attention towards the Jabberwock and bared her teeth. "How could you?!"

"What do you mean how could I?" The Jabberwock laughed. "I was only protecting myself. _You_ were the one who entered my cave uninvited. _You_ were the one who dragged this boy along._ You_ were the one who failed to protect him. Don't blame me for your failures, Mikaera."

Tears sprang up and immediately began to run down Miku's face. She looked at Len's too still form and reached out so her fingers could brush his. Right now his hand was still warm, but it wouldn't stay that way for much longer.

_"__Aaahh!"_ Miku cried out as the Jabberwock grabbed her by the hair and began dragging her towards the center of the room.

"It has been a while since we feasted, hasn't it?" she said to her minions. "This girl's fear runs so deep, we should be able to stuff ourselves on her for days."

If Miku wasn't so frightened, she would have kicked and screamed and clawed until she was free from the Jabberwock's grasp. Only she was petrified. And she couldn't stop looking at Len as he lied in a pool of his own blood.

The Jabberwock threw Miku down with force. When the Jabberwock then smiled a teeth showing smile, Miku saw fangs made of what appeared to be gold. Laughing, the Jabberwock knelt down and brought her face close. The other four approached, making their circle smaller. When the Jabberwock stopped leaning in, her lips brushed against Miku's neck as she spoke.

"Pretend all you want that you always knew what you were doing, that you were trying to be noble as a ghost that you never were in physical form, but we both know the truth. You were using the boy. Well, his sister's body more specifically, but also the boy. You needed someone to believe in you. Someone to trust you as you tried your best to be a fearless leader. But you are not fearless. You are afraid. Of the truth. Of your past. Of failing this naïve lad as you failed everyone else before him. I'm going to grow fat on your fear, Mikaera. When I am done with you, there will be nothing left to prove you ever truly existed."

**_"_****_Leave her alone!"_**

Miku, the Jabberwock, and her minions all snapped their heads in the direction of the speaker.

The Jabberwock cursed.

Her minions all verbally expressed disbelief.

Miku felt her heart stop.

As if nothing was wrong, Len rose to his feet and pulled the sword from his chest.

Blood didn't gush from the exposed wound as it should.

Instead, the bleeding stopped.

The wound began to close, the skin knitting itself back together.

When Len spoke, it wasn't just his voice, but the voice of many.

**_"_****_You're going to have to try a little harder than that."_** Len narrowed his eyes, and Miku gasped.

Those weren't Len's cerulean eyes looking back at them. One eye was scarlet, and the other midnight. Instead of a boy unsure of himself, this was a warrior ready to face the embodiment of fear itself head on.

Miku didn't know what was happening. The others didn't seem to have any better ideas. For once, they were the ones who were frozen in place while Miku slowly pushed herself upright.

When the Jabberwock finally spoke, the words were stiff. "Kill him."

Her minions hesitated, but they lurched forwards to attack. It was four against one. Len, as far as Miku was aware, had never even held a sword before. There was no room to hope. Before her very eyes, Miku would watch Len get slaughtered for a second time.

Yet that didn't happen.

There were no words to describe what she saw. Stunned still, Miku witnessed Len dodge the attacks from all four fears and hacked away with his sword. He landed blow after blow, and Trauma, Paranoia, and Hatred all vanished with a puff of smoke as the sword Len held cut off their heads.

Soon only he and Oneself were left standing. Len glared with his mismatched eyes, the sword held between them. Oneself's previous smug expression was gone, replaced with a wide-eyed stare as her eyes locked onto the sword just before Len lurched forward and the sword pierced through her heart.

Miku saw the whole thing, yet she still couldn't believe it. The sword that had gone through Len's chest now skewered Oneself. She gasped before she, too, turned to smoke.

Lowering the sword, Len turned his full attention onto the Jabberwock. **_"Your turn. Come and get me."_**

"I will tear you limb from limb," the Jabberwock vowed.

**_"_****_Not if you're impaled first."_** After he said this, Len looked at Miku. It was only for a second before his attention returned to the Jabberwock staring at him hungerly, but Miku got the message.

Before Miku could think about how she was supposed to do that when she could barely breathe, the Jabberwock advanced toward Len. She lusted for death. This time she wouldn't be content to spill Len's blood, but only when his body was mangled beyond recognition would she be satisfied.

The thought alone propelled Miku to act. All without thinking, Miku jumped to her feet, grabbed the first weapon she saw, and ran after the Jabberwock. Miku thrust her weapon forward, driving it through the Jabberwock just as she was about to get her hands on Len.

For a moment, nobody moved. Miku didn't think anybody breathed. It was as if they were trapped in the moment, stuck until their minds could catch up with their bodies.

It took Miku more than a minute to realize the weapon she held. The Vorpal Blade. She seemed to realize it the same time the Jabberwock did.

Even though she didn't look at Miku, the Jabberwock still spoke to her when she said, "You shall pay for this."

Then she, too, vanished in a puff of smoke.

With the Jabberwock now gone, it was only Miku and Len left. Both stood in fighting stances, weapons between them. Len was the first to relax, grinning with confidence he never before exerted as he twirled his sword with practiced ease and rested it on the back of his shoulders.

**_"_****_We all make a pretty good team, don't we?"_** he said in those multiple voices, mismatched eyes locked onto Miku.

Miku swallowed. _All?_

Then Len's eyes closed, and his body sagged. He fell to the ground, sword clattering beside him.

"Len?!" Dropping the Vorpal Blade, Miku fell to her knees beside him and began checking for a pulse. It was more than relieving to find that despite everything, Len was still alive.

"What happened?" Len, his single voice absent of others, pushed himself onto his knees and grimaced. He clutched at his chest, which had begun bleeding again where the Jabberwock had pierced through him.

_No!_ Demanding to let her see, Miku pulled Len's hand away to study the wound. She almost wept aloud when she saw a shallow cut on his chest and not a gaping hole. Whatever healed him before still mostly held intact. Len would be fine.

"Miku, are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that!" Miku made eye contact with Len. His eyes were once again cerulean.

Without thinking, Miku extended her hand and cupped Len's cheek. Sighing, he closed his eyes and leaned into her palm. Miku leaned forward and rested her forehead against Len's. He didn't pull back. They sat like this for more than a minute, everything that had just happened settling in their minds and bodies.

"You did it." Cracking open his eyes, Len looked at the blade by Miku's side. "You got the Vorpal Blade."

"I couldn't have done it without you." Miku felt she should drop her hand but didn't want the contact to end. However, she pulled her face away from his as she questioned, "Len . . . what happened? You were- I mean- What _was_ that?"

"I . . . don't know." Len lifted his hand up and grabbed hers. Pulling her hand away from his cheek, he wove his fingers with hers and rested their hands on his lap. "I wasn't myself, but I was. That was still me, but it wasn't. I don't know how else to explain it."

Miku couldn't describe what she saw any better than Len could explain what happened to him. "We should go," she finally said. "I . . . I want to leave."

"Me, too." Len rose to his feet and helped her up. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for breakfast."

* * *

Now that the Jabberwock's power no longer ran through the Cave of Reflections, it was just another cave. It was still dark, but not the pitch black abyss it was before. Nor did it twist and turn in unmarked paths, but it became a cave that required only minutes to explore in search of the exit.

Miku carried the Vorpal Blade, and Len carried the sword the Jabberwock used to kill him. The thoughts never left Len's mind for a second. The Jabberwock stabbed Len through the chest. He was dying. He should be dead.

Then something happened. Try as Len might, he couldn't make sense of it. Seeing the Jabberwock stand over Miku filled Len with the yearning to use his dying breaths to save her. He pushed himself to his feet, but as he did so, something entered him. Something he felt before, back with the talking flowers, only stronger this time. It gave him strength to stand and pull the sword from his chest. It healed his wounds, saving him from death. It gave him the skills necessary to defeat the Jabberwock's minions as if it was mere child's play for him. When he spoke, it wasn't just him. His thoughts and this thing's thoughts were one. The words he spoke were just as much his as the thing that possessed him.

Just as Len began to make sense of it, the thing was gone. No, not gone. Retreating for now. Saving its energy. Waiting for the next time Len would need its power to defeat their foes.

Perhaps Len would be able to think about it more clearly on a full stomach.

He and Miku exited the cave into the dawn. Taking a lungful of air, Len didn't realize until then how little he expected to see another day. They were alive, even if only for now.

Without speaking, he and Miku returned to Cul's wagon. They were nearly there when Ruko, Cul, and the fairy princesses were rushing towards the Cave of Reflections. When the group saw the duo, they stopped dead in their tracks and studied Miku and Len as if seeing them for the first time. Their eyes drifted to the Vorpal Blade in Miku's hands. Then they looked back at the two.

Ruko was the first to speak. "Damn you mad lads. You actually did it."

"Did you expect any less from us?" Miku tried to sound cocky, but it was clear to Len how tired she was. He felt exhausted, too. All he wanted was a pile of food, a hot bath, and a long nap, in that order.

"We expected to never see you again!" Ruko snapped. Then she did something Len never would have seen coming. Ruko rushed forward and crushed Miku and Len in a tight hug. "Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again!"

"I can't believe you actually did it," Cul said as Ruko broke her hug, eyes locked onto the Vorpal Blade. "You defeated the Jabberwock."

"You are the prophesized ones after all," Merli breathed.

As soon as she said the words, Len knew she was wrong. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew the "two hearts beating as one" did not mean him and Rin or him and Miku. Those words spoke of other players in this game of dreams and souls and life and death.

Who they truly were, Len didn't know. He didn't even know how to voice this.

"How did you do it?" Lapis asked, flying just a mere foot away from Miku.

When Miku answered, a slight laugh echoed in her words. "How about Len and I tell you over a hot breakfast. I'm starving!"

"Fine, but don't leave your food unsupervised or else I might spit in it for all the trouble you caused us." Ruko crossed her arms as if the hug never happened. Len started to doubt if it even did.

"Sounds fair." As the whole group began returning to Cul's wagon, Miku reached out and took Len's hand. Without words, he understood what she wanted to convey.

_How much do we tell them?_

Len squeezed her hand to reply.

_I don't know, but whatever we tell them, we tell them together._

"Together," Miku whispered, understanding the message.

"Together," Len promised.

* * *

The benefits of not needing sleep was it didn't tire Rin out the slightest to stay up all night throwing herself against the edge of her crystal ball prison. After Alice loosed it from its place in her fit of rage, Rin's mind began forming the plan. Now that everyone within the castle was asleep and nobody would be entering the throne room for hours, Rin knew this was a better time than any to act out her plan.

Again and again she threw herself against the ball's edge. It didn't hurt. Rin couldn't feel pain in this state. That and her inability to wear out kept her fueled to pull this off even when at first she had no results. When the ball began to budge, Rin knew this plan was going to work.

Soon enough the crystal ball was freed from the stand. Now it was easier for Rin to roll the ball each time she threw herself against it. Then she was rolling away from the center of the table and towards the edge.

When the crystal ball rolled off the table, Rin had a sensation similar to her stomach dropping. Then the ball collided with the marble floors. Her prison shattered into hundreds of thousands of pieces.

Freed from her prison, Rin looked around to see if anyone came rushing in. Nobody, but that didn't mean the sound of the crystal ball breaking went unheard. Sooner or later, someone would walk in and see what she had done.

Rising to her feet, Rin began to run. Len was dead, and her body was lost, but she would take the time to grieve when she was safely away from Alice. If there was safety to be had in the first place.

Rin would do everything in her power to make sure her story did not have any more of a tragic end in this twisted fairytale.

There was only so much she could do.

However, she would not rest until she exhausted all her options.

That time would come later.

For now, she ran.

* * *

**Author's Note: Based on the lack of reviews this story has received, I have decided to cancel the sequels. It's plenty clear to me that nobody cares that much for this story. Fair enough. As excited as I was for this fanfic to do well, I understand why an Alice of Human Sacrifice fic would not be in demand. As a result, I will instead put my focus and efforts into stories that will hopefully find better success.**

**For those of you who read this all the way through, thank you for joining Len, Miku, and Ruko on their adventure. Thank you for sympathizing with Rin. Although there will be no continuation, I still hope it gave you some source of entertainment.**

**\- Fantastical**


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